Sundance Film Festival Asia returns to Taiwan, holds short film contest

Taipei, March 8 (CNA) The Sundance Film Festival Asia, an expansion of the independent film event in the United States, will be held in Taipei for the second year in August, and the organizers have begun accepting submissions for its short film competition.

The Sundance Institute and G2Go Entertainment announced the 2024 edition of Sundance Film Festival Asia will take place in Taipei on Aug. 21-25, according to a statement released March 4.

"2024 marks the 40th edition of the Sundance Film Festival in the United States," according to the statement. "The continuation of Sundance Film Festival Asia in Taipei is a further celebration of this marvelous achievement and a commitment to invigorate local artists with outreach and dialogue."

Meanwhile, the organizers have begun accepting submissions for a short film competition for the film festival's Asia event, which drew more than 250 entries in 2023, the statement said.

The submissions are open until May 31, and a winner will be announced at the opening event of the film festival in Taipei and receive a NT$50,000 (US$1,594) cash prize, according to the statement.

Last year's winner of the competition held exclusively for Taiwanese filmmakers, An Chu (朱建安), went on to present "The Stag" at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah and won the Short Film Jury Award for International Fiction in January, organizers said.

Filmmakers need to hold a Taiwan passport or a Taiwan resident card and have to be aged 18 or above to be eligible to submit their short films completed after Jan. 1, 2023.

The length of the submissions should be between three and 15 minutes, the organizers said.

"We are especially looking forward to seeing what the Taiwanese filmmakers have to share with us for our Short Film Competition as last year showcased a richness in storytelling," said Eugene Hernandez, festival director and head of public programming at the Sundance Institute, in the statement.