A documentary depicting Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen County has been shortlisted among 15 works vying for best documentary short honors at the 96th Academy Awards, among 10 categories announced on Thursday.
Island in Between (金門), directed by S. Leo Chiang (江松長), is a work produced by Chiang in conjunction with CNEX Studio Corp and the New York Times to familiarize the world with Taiwan, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
The 19-minute film “weaves lyrical vignettes of tourist visits and local life with [Chiang’s] own narrative as someone negotiating ambivalent personal bonds to Taiwan, China and the US” the New York Times wrote in describing the documentary.
Photo courtesy of CNEX via CNA
“I made this film hoping to contribute to a deeper understanding of the Taiwan Strait crisis through the eyes of the people who live in it, including myself. I hope that my film can play a small part in advocating for peace,” Chiang told the New York Times.
Chiang — who was born in Taiwan, grew up in the US and worked in China — said that his background “has given me a front-row seat to the decades-long complex dance between these nations.”
Through his work, he hoped to explore the “uneasy peace” in Taiwan, he said.
Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said in the statement that the film making the Oscars shortlist demonstrated Taiwan’s soft power.
Hopefully, the documentary would win, he said.
The documentary is available to view for free on the New York Times’ Op-Docs channel.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced the shortlist for best international feature film.
Taiwan’s submission, Marry My Dead Body (關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事), was not included. Among the 15 that made the list were Perfect Days from Japan and The Monk and the Gun from Bhutan.
The Oscars finalists are to be announced on Jan. 23 and the winners at the award ceremony on March 10.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) today condemned the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) after the Czech officials confirmed that Chinese agents had surveilled Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) during her visit to Prague in March last year. Czech Military Intelligence director Petr Bartovsky yesterday said that Chinese operatives had attempted to create the conditions to carry out a demonstrative incident involving Hsiao, going as far as to plan a collision with her car. Hsiao was vice president-elect at the time. The MAC said that it has requested an explanation and demanded a public apology from Beijing. The CCP has repeatedly ignored the desires
Many Chinese spouses required to submit proof of having renounced their Chinese household registration have either completed the process or provided affidavits ahead of the June 30 deadline, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said on Thursday. Of the 12,146 people required to submit the proof, 5,534 had done so as of Wednesday, MAC deputy head and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. Another 2,572 people who met conditions for exemption or deferral from submitting proof of deregistration — such as those with serious illnesses or injuries — have submitted affidavits instead, he said. “As long as individuals are willing to cooperate with the legal
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
The Ministry of Environment yesterday held a seminar in Taipei for experts from Taiwan and Japan to exchange their experiences on the designs and development of public toilets. Japan Toilet Association chairman Kohei Yamamoto said that he was impressed with the eco-toilet set up at Daan Forest Park, adding that Japan still faces issues regarding public restrooms despite the progress it made over the past decades. For example, an all-gender toilet was set up in Kabukicho in Tokyo’s Shinjuku District several years ago, but it caused a public backlash and was rebuilt into traditional men’s and women’s toilets, he said. Japan Toilet Association
RSS