Nearly 200 animated films from around the world are showing at a theater in Taichung until Oct. 20, as part of the fifth edition of the Taichung International Animation Festival (TIAF), which opened on Friday (Oct. 11).
In addition to film screenings, 60 animated films will compete in 10 award categories and for prize money totaling NT$1.2 million (US$38,580). The animations were selected from more than 2,200 submissions worldwide.
It was a pleasure to be invited to the festival, said Max Hattler, one of five jury members, at the opening ceremony on Friday. He added that watching 60 films in such a short period of time would be a challenging task, but it would also be a special experience.
Apart from being a juror, Hattler will deliver a director’s talk and put on a live performance in the following days. His work will be featured at this year’s festival that explores the topics of music and sound.
Another juror, Raimund Krumme, is a university teacher in Taipei. He said he looks forward to seeing great work during the festival and exchanging ideas with filmmakers from around the globe.
Other jury members include Gints Zilbalodis, whose “Away” is selected as the opening film, Hong Kong animator Lo Che-ying (盧子英), and Taiwanese filmmaker Joe Hsieh (謝文明). Huang Kuo-wei (黃國瑋), commissioner of Taichung City Government’s Information Bureau, said 176 animated films would be screened at Kbro Cinemas from Oct. 11-20.
