Annual Clermont-Ferrand French short film festival features Taiwan

Paris, Feb. 3 (CNA) The annual Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France features Taiwan this year, screening a total of 67 productions, including virtual reality works and short films created by Taiwanese university students.

The festival highlights a "Country in Focus" each year and this year the focus is Taiwan, according to the French organizer, which worked in collaboration with the Taiwan Cultural Center in Paris to present various programs showcasing the cultural vitality of the country.

Among the programs are thrillers, animations, documentaries from the 1960s that have been restored specially for the occasion, and short film projects by students of Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA).

Terng Jaw-chyang (滕兆鏘), director of TNUA's Department of Filmmaking, told CNA the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival has a long history and is often dubbed the "Oscars of short films."

The festival, which is being held in the central French city of Clermont-Ferrand, is an opportunity for the world to learn more about Taiwan's contemporary youth and their style of filmmaking, Terng said.

The event also provides learning and exchange opportunities for students, he added.

About 20 TNUA students and teachers attended this year's festival, featuring dozens of works created by the school's young filmmakers.

At the event, four programs consisting of 24 films make up the bulk of the spotlight on Taiwan, including "The Palace on the Sea" (海上皇宮) by Midi Zhao (趙德胤), and the 2002 short film "The Skywalk is Gone" (天橋不見了) by Taiwan-based Malaysian filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮).

Tsai's film, which stars actress Chen Shiang-chyi (陳湘琪) and actor Lee Kang-sheng (李康生), tells a fictional story about a young woman wandering around Taipei Main Station where she meets a young man going to a casting call for a pornographic film.

The Taiwan VR creations include "Samsara" (輪迴) by Huang Hsin-chien (黃心健) and "Red Tail" (紅尾巴) by Fish Wang (王登鈺).

The festival, which began on Jan. 27 and will run through Feb. 4, also features Taiwanese gastronomy, with a restaurant menu prepared by a Taiwan chef.

First launched in 1979, the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival is being held for the 45th edition, showcasing hundreds of films from over 50 countries.