Taiwan team behind Oscar-nominated documentary holds talk in L.A.

Los Angeles, March 8 (CNA) The Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles on Friday held a press event for the Oscar-nominated documentary "Island in Between" (金門).

Running a little under 20 minutes, the documentary exploring Kinmen's unique role in Taiwan-China relations has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards.

The film was shot by a team led by Taiwanese-American filmmaker S. Leo Chiang (江松長), who told Friday's event that he made the documentary to present Taiwan to the world.

Chiang also wanted to inform international audiences about the current climate of cross-Taiwan Strait relations.

To celebrate the first time a Taiwanese production was nominated for an Oscar in 23 years, after director Ang Lee's (李安) "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon" (臥虎藏龍), the Taiwan Academy in Los Angeles invited the international press to meet the team behind "Island in Between."

When asked whether or not he has a speech written if he wins, Chiang said: "In all honesty, I am not ready."

Chiang said if he is allowed to take the stage at the Academy Awards, he would want to introduce Taiwan to more people so that audiences around the globe would understand the island nation and be encouraged to visit.

He added that he had received positive responses from audiences in countries like Cuba and South Korea.

"Although it is not their history, they can fully understand [Taiwan's situation] through the lenses of my camera," Chiang said.

"The most important aspect [of the film] is not the clarification of geopolitics -- the most important thing is to let people know what it feels to be a Taiwanese."

To showcase even more of Taiwan, Chiang also revealed that he will wear clothing by London-based Taiwanese fashion designer Apu Jan (詹朴) when walking the red carpet with his partner Daniel Ostling at the Dolby Theater on Sunday.

Ben Tsiang (蔣顯斌), CEO of CNEX, which helped produce "Island in Between," told Friday's forum that he hoped the Oscar nod for "Island in Between" would encourage his studio to make more similarly dialogue-provoking documentaries.

"Island in Between" will be up against American-Taiwanese filmmaker Sean Wang's (王湘聖) "Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó" (奶奶跟外婆), which has also been nominated for Best Documentary Short Film.

"Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó" is an American production that documents the relationship and lives of Wang's Taiwan-born paternal and maternal grandmothers as they share a home in Fremont, California.