The winners of the 2016 Trending Taiwan Short Film Competition, organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, were honored at a ceremony Dec. 14 at 1914 Huashan Creative Park in Taipei City.
In total, 152 video clips were entered in the contest, with 12 selected to receive prizes. The first, second and third-place entries were screened at the awards ceremony and all winning films, each running about 3 minutes, will be put on Trending Taiwan’s YouTube channel with English subtitles.
“Through this competition, the MOFA hopes to inform foreigners about Taiwan by tapping into the creative strengths of the general public and making use of social media,” said Chang Kuo-boug, director-general of the MOFA’s Department of International Information Services.
The top award, along with a prize of NT$200,000 (US$6,270), went to “Dream Bus: Fengyuan Public Bus 6506.” The short film centers on a bus driver who has operated the same six-hour route for decades in mountainous central Taiwan.
Each of the two second-place winners received NT$50,000 (US$1,570). Three submissions shared third place, with each receiving NT$10,000 (US$315). Six other short films earned honorable mentions and prizes of NT$5,000 (US$157).
A variety of subjects were featured in the videos, ranging from a veteran motorcycle taxi driver in Taipei City’s Beitou District to a shamaness from an indigenous tribe in southern Taiwan.
“The submissions are more diverse in content than those from last year, which were mostly about travel experiences in Taiwan or local landscapes,” said Jane Liu, one of the six competition judges and president of Cheers Magazine, which co-organized the contest. “Many films this time were human interest stories with a specific theme, and some were quite moving.”
The first edition of the MOFA-organized competition took place in 2015 and featured 66 entries. Established in July 2015, Trending Taiwan’s YouTube channel features videos that introduce diverse and intriguing aspects of the Republic of China (Taiwan). In addition to the short film competition, Trending Taiwan also promotes a contest through which local filmmakers are selected to represent Taiwan in the Cyber category of the Young Lions Competitions, held annually in Cannes, France. (OC-E)
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