Taiwanese director Joe Hsieh's (謝文明) animated film "Night Bus (夜車)" has won the Short Film Jury Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. It is the first Taiwanese work to earn a Sundance award honoring outstanding independent productions.
"Night Bus" is a 20-minute thriller animation that unfolds a series of intriguing turns of events that happened on a late-night commuter bus after a necklace that belonged to an elderly lady was stolen. To present the characteristics of Taiwan, over one-third of the dialogue in "Night Bus" is in Hoklo. The role of the elderly lady in the animation is voiced by Golden Horse Award winner Chen Shu-fang (陳淑芳).
"With its deft handling of film noir sensibilities, well-rounded storytelling, suspense and deeply crafted characters, this film takes us on a ride figuratively and literally," Sundance Festival juror Kevin Jerome Everson said in announcing the award.
"Night Bus" also earned a Golden Horse Award - Taiwan's equivalent of the Academy Awards - in 2020, and a Special Jury Mention at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival in France in February 2021. The film also won the Grand Prix of short films at Animafest Zagreb in Croatia in June 2021.
The Sundance Film Festival, one of the largest independent film festivals in the world, is being held from Jan. 20 to 30 online and on satellite screens across the United States. The festival brings artists and audiences together for the premieres of groundbreaking work each January.