Taiwanese director Joe Hsieh’s (謝文明) animated film Night Bus (夜車) on Friday won the Short Film Jury Award at the Sundance Film Festival, becoming the first Taiwanese work to win a Sundance award.
“With its deft handling of film noir sensibilities, well-rounded storytelling, suspense and deeply crafted characters, this film takes us on a ride figuratively and literally,” Sundance Festival juror Kevin Jerome Everson said when announcing the award.
The 20-minute thriller, which tells the story of a theft on a bus traveling along Taiwan’s coast and a subsequent fatal accident, won the Grand Prix of short films at Animafest Zagreb in Croatia in June last year.
Photo: Courtesy of Catchplay+
“What a big surprise. It’s definitely a great honor,” Hsieh said after being named the winner. “I would like to thank Taiwan, because Taiwan always gives me so much inspiration to make animation.”
Over one-third of the dialogue in Night Bus is in Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), which the director said reflects real life in Taiwan.
“The dialect’s unique nature rhyme and sound adds emotions and charm to the animation,” he said.
Night Bus also won a Golden Horse Award in 2020, and a Special Jury Mention at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France in February last year.
The animation has also gained plaudits from renowned Taiwanese-American director Ang Lee (李安), who described Hsieh as a “one-of-a-kind Taiwanese animation talent whose works explode with artistry and eccentricity.”
The Sundance Film Festival, one of the largest independent film festivals in the world, was held from Jan. 20 to Sunday.
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