The mission of the New Taipei City Documentary Film Awards is to promote the art of the documentary and encourage directors to create more works, serving as a stage for documentary filmmakers to gain visibility at home and abroad. It is one of the major events for the Taiwanese documentary scene and has engaged in collaboration with 98 directors over 11 years. The resulting documentaries, 107 in total, have focused on a variety of local and international themes, earning widespread recognition. 140 films were submitted for this year's (2021) awards. Participants' ages varied widely, from seasoned filmmakers to up-and-coming young directors. All films selected are awarded with US$10,000 in film incentives and the opportunity for renowned directors to serve as their producers. Not only do we offer the most practical assistance but the copyright will belong to the documentary directors themselves. Furthermore, winners can travel abroad to participate in overseas screenings during the 2021 New Taipei City International Documentary Month.
The 11 documentaries chosen this year centered on a variety of themes, including: Adju by director Elvis A-Liang Lu; The Journey of Becoming Truku by director Zhang Su- Rung; Wind and View by director Hsieh Shang-Hung; Vespas, Typhoons and Diplomats by director David Frazier; The Passage by director Ko Chih-Yuan; A "Tayal" by director Laha Mebow; Faces of a Taiwanese Opera Actress by director Jean-Robert Thomann; Always in My Mind by director Wan Fai; Glad Rags by director Chao Ruo-Tong; Yong Shun Yong Ho by director Yu Chiao-Ting; and Étude by director Lin Yu-En.
Undeterred by the COVID-19 pandemic, we carefully planned a series of online keynote speeches by notable figures in the Taiwanese film industry: director Michelle Chu, producer Patrick Mao Huang, curator Wood Lin, film editor Lei Cheng-Ching, director Chienn Hsiang, and marketing director Wang Shih. They will discuss issues often encountered by documentarians and share their personal experience regarding theme choice and expressive techniques of documentary films, international marketing, venture capital, film festival perspectives, film editing, cinematography, domestic marketing, and crowdfunding. Moreover, we are collaborating with Giloo and PTS+, Public Television Service's OTT media service, so that the screenings of the International Documentary go online. This will allow the general public to become acquainted with and spread the message of winning documentaries.
The New Taipei City Documentary Film Awards are entering their 11th year and have already become a hallmark event in the domestic documentary scene. We are immensely grateful for the guidance and support offered by numerous documentary filmmakers over the years. Together, we hope that the documentary sector in Taiwan will flourish and reach new heights in the future, and will promote local films abroad so that people around the world can enjoy the best of documentaries.