The Taiwanese animated film On Happiness Road (幸福路上) on Monday was awarded the grand prize in the featured film category at the Tokyo Anime Award Festival at AnimeJapan.
AnimeJapan, called the Tokyo International Animation Fair before it merged with the Anime Contents Expo, is one of the largest anime expos in the world.
On Happiness Road explores Taiwanese history from 1975 to the present through the lens of its protagonist, Lin Shu-chi (林淑琪), or Chi, who was born on the day Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) died.
Photo: CNA
The theme and setting of the film mirrors that of its creator and director, Sung Hsin-ying (宋欣穎), a child of the 1970s who studied political science in college and briefly worked as a journalist before studying film in Japan and the US.
At the ceremony, Sung received the award from Doug Sweetland, director of the animated film Storks.
After thanking the cast and the production team, Sung said she hopes On Happiness Road will be screened in more countries to show Taiwan’s story to the world.
Photo courtesy of ifilm
“On Happiness Road realized animation’s full potential. It is imaginative, spans many eras and inspires reflection on the meaning of life,” Sweetland said.
Sung said previously in an interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) that Chi’s story is inspired by her own experiences during Taiwan’s democratization.
Like herself, Chi witnessed the end of Chiang’s public adoration and the rise of Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese) from a banned language to that of the cultural mainstream, Sung said.
Animation was the appropriate medium to portray the magic realism that has overtaken the reality of that period, she said.
When On Happiness Road premiered in January in Taiwan, Minister of Culture Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君) said: “Everyone in the audience fell into a reverie of their past and was reminded of the Lin Shu-chi within themselves that they have forgotten in the bustle of daily life.”
The film began as an animated short, which Sung remade into a feature after it won the grand prize at the Taipei Film Festival in 2013 and received more than NT$1 million (US$34,180) in funding from the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion program and the Ministry of Culture.
Actress Gwei Lun-mei (桂綸鎂) and director Wei Te-sheng (魏德聖) contributed their voices for the characters free of charge, while pop star Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) performed for the soundtrack.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers