Taiwanese animations eligible for Oscar nominations screened at TIFF

Toronto, Sept. 9 (CNA) Two Taiwanese animated short films eligible to be nominated for the Oscar Animated Short Film category were recently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

"Ghost of the Dark Path" by Fish Wang (王登鈺) and Zhang Xu-zhan's (張徐展) "Compound Eyes of Tropical," both under 20 minutes, were shown at the TIFF Lightbox cinema on Sept. 7.

"Ghost of the Dark Path" won "Best animated short film" in the Anima't section at the 2023 Sitges Film Festival, and "Compound Eyes of Tropical" won the Grand Prize in the short film category at the 2023 Bucheon International Animation Festival.

Those achievements mean they are eligible to be nominated for the 2025 Oscars, also known as the 97th Academy Awards.

According to Oscar rules, "to be eligible for consideration for the 97th Awards, a short film must have won a qualifying award at a competitive film festival listed in the Short Film Qualifying Festival List."

Set during Taiwan's "White Terror" period, "Ghost of the Dark Path" depicts the authoritarian past and how people living in that era "got lost."

With a nostalgic, mysterious atmosphere and a suspenseful tone, the film tells the story of the fictional character Shi Shuifang (施水芳), "a woman who advocated ideas bravely in the underground political organization" and "seemed to be a light that illuminated the times," according to the TIFF website.

Speaking to the audience after the screening, Wang said Shi resembles Taiwan, and while facing a tragic fate marked by division and persecution, she serves as an illuminating light.

He also shared with CNA that the film was adapted from his 2008 picture book "Scenery of the Dark Path," about the Taiwanese spiritual ritual Guanluoyin (a ritual to communicate with the dead).

He said he felt "a sense of satisfaction and contentment" after seeing the adaptation and as someone who has long been interested in Taiwan's history and politics, he hopes the film will "spark discussions" and encourage people to "uncover more truths."

Meanwhile, "Compound Eyes of Tropical" was inspired by the Southeast Asian folktale "Mousedeer and the Crocodile," where the clever mousedeer Sang Kancil crosses a river full of hungry crocodiles.

With traditional Taiwanese paper art creations and utilizing stop motion techniques, the film retells the story through a combination of Indonesian folk culture and Taiwanese religious culture.

Hailing from a family with a tradition of creating Taiwanese paper art, which plays a crucial role in Taoist festive celebrations and temple rituals, Zhang said people often simplify what the craft is due to a lack of understanding, which made him particularly interested in finding the "similarities" between different cultures.

"When it comes to cross-cultural or intercultural perspectives, I don't quickly label things. Instead, I look for similar experiences I had when growing up, and this is where the inspiration for 'Compound Eyes of Tropical' comes from," he told CNA.

Both Wang and Zhang expressed their surprise at their works being shortlisted for Oscar nominations.

Despite this, both are not strangers to winning accolades. Wang won Best Animated Short Film at the 2019 Golden Horse Awards with "Gold Fish," while Zhang won the same award at the 2022 Golden Horse Awards with "Compound Eyes of Tropical."

"Compound Eyes of Tropical" also won the Grand Prize and Best Sound Effects at the 2023 Golden Harvest Awards, an award for short films established by Taiwan's then Government Information Office in 1978, and hosted by the Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee since 2021.

Meanwhile, there will also be a special screening of "Old Fox" by Hsiao Ya-chuan (蕭雅全) at the TIFF Lightbox on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m.

Hsiao won four awards at last year's Golden Horse Awards with "Old Fox." The film was also selected by the Ministry of Culture to be Taiwan's submission in the Best International Feature Film category at the 2025 Oscars.