Submissions Open for the 20th Taipei Film Festival International New Talent Competition - Taipei Film Commission

(2018/01/08)


Winners of 2017 Taipei Film Festival International New Talent Competition

With the 20th Taipei Film Festival scheduled for June 28 to July 14 this year, the 2018 “International New Talent Competition” is open for submissions from January 8 to March 30. The Festival’s program team will select a total of 10-12 international films, with the final selection to be announced on May 8. New international directors are invited to submit their first or second feature film, which must have a minimum running time of 70 minutes and not previously screened for the public in Taiwan. For more information, please visit Taipei Film Festival website: http://www.taipeiff.taipei/

Founded in 2005, the International New Talent Competition aims to discover and introduce cutting-edge talent in Taiwanese and international cinema, focusing on the potential of new filmmakers in their structuring, storytelling, grasp of themes, and aesthetic style. Each year, a jury of five international film industry professionals will jointly decide on the “Grand Prize” and “Special Jury Prize” among the selected international films, with the winning directors receiving prize money of NT$600,000 (approximately US$18,000) and NT$300,000 (approximately US$9,000), respectively. In addition, audiences may vote for their favorite film to determine the “Audience Choice Award”.


Submissions Open for the 20th Taipei Film Festival International New Talent Competition

The films selected by the International New Talent Competition in 2017 have continued to perform well. The Grand prize winner, The Wound, made the nine-film shortlist for this year’s Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film as the official submission of South Africa. Following its world premiere at Taipei Film Festival, Audience Choice Award winner The Great Buddha+ was also selected for Busan International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, and the Palm Springs International Film Festival. The US film Columbus earned nominations at the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards and the Film Independent Spirit Awards. There is also good news on the upcoming projects by directors from last year’s selection. Oliver LAXE, winner of the Special Jury Prize for Mimosa, has received a grant from Eurimages for his new project, A Sun That Never Sets, while last month, HUANG Ji, director of The Foolish Bird, received a Script and Project Development grant from the Hubert Bals Fund of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, further raising anticipation for the work of these up-and-coming international directors.

Jury members of the International New Talent Competition over the years have included Golden Lion winner TRẦN Anh Hùng, Silver Bear winner WANG Xiaoshuai, and the winner of the 2017 Palme d'Or for The Square, Ruben ÖSTLUND. Through the different perspectives and cultural backgrounds of its jury members, Taipei Film Festival hopes to award films with the highest degree of potential and creativity.