Taiwanese VR productions, musicians to participate in Texas festivals

Taipei, March 7 (CNA) This year's South by Southwest (SXSW) festivals, set for March 7-15 in Austin, Texas, will feature four fully or jointly created Taiwanese productions and six Taiwanese music acts, highlighting Taiwan's cultural influence, according to the Ministry of Culture (MOC).

The selected films include "Address Unknown: Fukushima Now" (住所不明:福島今), a Taiwanese-Japanese-American documentary co-produced by Taipei-based Serendipity Films, and "Just For You Trilogy" (開房間VR三部曲) by Taipei-based Riverbed Theatre, the MOC said in a statement.

The two films, to be screened as part of SXSW's "XR Experience Spotlight," were shot using virtual reality (VR) technology, giving audiences an "immersive" viewing experience, according to SXSW's website.

In addition, "Proof As If Proof Were Needed" a Taiwanese-British production by directors Chang Ting-tong (張碩尹) and Matt Adams, also powered by VR, has been shortlisted for the festivals' XR Experience Competition.

Meanwhile, Theater of Future Puppetry, an immersive real-time puppetry system developed by Professor Hsu Chun-cheng's (許峻誠) laboratory at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, has been named a finalist in the Student Innovation category at the SXSW Innovation Awards, which will be presented on March 10.

The system features gesture recognition technology, allowing multiple users to perform glove puppetry simultaneously, offering audiences a fresh take on the traditional art form, according to the project's website.

With support from the MOC, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency has in recent years set up a Taiwan Pavilion at SXSW to demonstrate Taiwan's significant potential in "cultural technology" to international curators, buyers and publishers, the statement said.

Meanwhile, the Taiwan Beats Showcase, funded by the MOC and curated by Young Team Productions, will take place on March 12 and feature six Taiwanese pop and indie music acts, including TRASH, Amazing Show, Enno Cheng (鄭宜農), Hsien Ching (陳嫺靜), ?te and Andr.

On March 7, Taiwan's Ambassador-at-Large Audrey Tang (唐鳳) will give a speech titled "Power To The People: Technology For Citizen Participation" at Austin Marriott Downtown as part of SXSW. The session will delve into real-world examples of how technology is enhancing and protecting democracy, rather than undermining it, with a special focus on Taiwan's experience, according to the event's page.

Established in 1987, SXSW started life as a local music event and has now evolved into a major international event comprising three festivals mainly focusing on music, film and comedy. Conferences on various issues are also held throughout the events.

More than 510,000 participants attended the event last year, generating an estimated revenue of around US$300 million, according to the statement.

Taiwan is home to world-leading computer hardware companies and an abundant pool of creative talent, and SXSW is an important opportunity for them to establish connections and expand global reach, the MOC said.