Taipei Film Festival

Overview

The Taipei Film Festival is Taipei's most important dedicated film festival. Founded in 1998 and held annually in June and July in Taipei -- Taiwan's vibrant capital, a city that combines Chinese cultural traditions with Japanese colonial influences and a distinctive Taiwanese democratic modernity -- the festival presents competitive international and Taiwanese cinema.

Taiwan's film tradition has produced some of world cinema's most acclaimed directors -- Hou Hsiao-hsien and Edward Yang in the 1980s-1990s, and more recently Wei Te-sheng and Chung Mong-hong -- creating a national cinema of international prestige. The Taipei Film Festival provides an important domestic platform for this tradition alongside the Golden Horse Awards ceremony.

Taipei's character as one of Asia's most politically free and culturally open societies creates a festival audience with unusual receptiveness to politically engaged and socially challenging cinema from around the world.

Key Sections

• International Competition -- films competing for jury prizes
• Taiwanese Cinema Program -- new Taiwanese features
• Documentary Competition -- nonfiction features
• Short Film Competition -- competitive short programs
• Asian Film Panorama -- curated Asian cinema

What Filmmakers Should Know

The festival accepts open submissions. For Taiwanese filmmakers, the festival is an important complement to the Golden Horse Awards. For international filmmakers, Taipei's politically free and culturally engaged audience creates valuable exposure in one of Asia's most open markets.

Major Awards

• Taipei Film Award -- Best Film in the Taiwanese competition
• International Competition Award
• Audience Award

Festival History

Taipei Film Festival was founded in 1998 and has operated alongside Taiwan's established film culture institutions.

See Also

For Taiwanese cinema, see Golden Horse Film Festival. For East Asian cinema, see International Film Markets.