After bagging three awards at the Taipei Film Festival on July 9, "Demigod: The Legend Begins (素還真)" went on to win the Audience Award for Best Asian Film at the 21st Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF), which took place in Switzerland.
"Demigod: The Legend Begins," voiced by late Taiwanese master puppeteer Vincent Huang (黃文擇), is a Taiwanese glove puppet fantasy film produced by local production studio Pili International Multimedia. According to the studio, "Demigod" won three awards at the 24th Taipei Film Festival including Best Animation, Best Makeup & Costume Design, and the Award for Outstanding Artistic Contribution. Following that, the film stood out among seven other films from Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Korea and was awarded the Audience Award for Best Asian Film at NIFFF.
Film producer Alex Chen (陳義方) and senior puppeteer Lin Kuei-hsieh (林奎協) attended the NIFFF Extended and talked about the movie-making process and the charming glove puppetry culture. Pili International said that Pili is getting a reputation for its global achievements. Besides the previously mentioned film festivals, "Demigod: The Legend Begins" was nominated for the Merry-Go-Round section at one of the biggest genre film festivals, the 26th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, and Canada Fantasia International Film Festival.
In an interview with Central News Agency, the President of Pili International, Huang Liang-hsun (黃亮勛) stated that Pili International has been reaching out to the global market, hoping to introduce the beauty of glove puppetry to audiences around the globe and share the fascinating wuxia world.
Created in 2000, the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) has rapidly become an unmissable event for film lovers. Its prestigious programme has ensured it a national and international presence. This event is mainly dedicated to one genre — that is fantasy, or fantastic films. Asian cinema and digital creation are the two additional topics that complete the picture.
(Photo Credit: Pili International Multimedia)