The ninth edition of the Trending Taiwan Short Film Competition is accepting submissions until Sept. 30. (MOFA)
The Trending Taiwan Short Film Competition opened July 20 as part of government efforts to raise the country’s profile on the global stage, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Organized by the MOFA’s Department of International Information Services, the ninth edition of the annual event is accepting global submissions until Sept. 30 that capture the societal beauty or cultural ambiance unique to Taiwan and feature inspiring local stories or ephemeral moments of beauty in the country.
According to the MOFA, there are two categories for the competition. The Creative Theme Category invites entries of no more than three minutes, and the Student Special Award recipients will be selected from among them, the ministry said, adding that the Reel-style Short Video Category was launched this year to encourage vertical submissions of 60 seconds or less, which will challenge contestants with outstanding artistic and creative skills.
Entries will be assessed by a six-member panel on the basis of narrative technique, script creativity, technical proficiency and theme appeal. A total of 40 submissions will be shortlisted in the first round, with final selections honored during a ceremony Oct. 31 in Taipei City.
For the Creative Theme Category, the first-prize winner is to receive a cash prize of NT$250,000 (US$8,281), two second-prize winners will be granted NT$120,000 each, three third-prize winners NT$80,000 each and the five winners of distinctions NT$50,000 each, while two Student Special Award winners will each receive NT$50,000. For the Reel-style Short Video Category, the first-prize winner is to receive a cash prize of NT$80,000, and the second and the third will be granted NT50,000 and NT$40,000, respectively.
The awarded works will be subtitled in a variety of foreign languages for broadcast on Trending Taiwan’s social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Twitter and YouTube, as well as for promotional use by Taiwan’s overseas offices.
First launched in 2015, the competition is one of the MOFA’s most successful digital diplomacy initiatives. It has attracted over 1,000 submissions to date from nationals of countries such as France, India, Malaysia and Switzerland. (YCH-E)
