Taiwan participated in the SeaShorts Film Festival for the first time, presenting winners from the Golden Harvest Awards for Outstanding Short Films and the Kaohsiung Film Festival at the film festival held between September 12 and 20. Originally planned to be held in Ipoh, Malaysia, but in light of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis, the festival was shifted entirely online for the first time.
The 2020 SeaShorts Film Festival features 52 short films from Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Japan.
Organized by the Ministry of Culture and Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, Taiwan's entries include seven films, of which five depict stories of the struggles, work, and lives of Southeast Asians in Taiwan, and the other two explore in nowadays Taiwan young people wandering between dreams and reality. Emerging director Chen Kuan-chung's "Be Shit or Not to Be" is a self-portrait reflecting a decade's work behind the scene with sweat and tears. Chuo Chia-hsien's "The Calling" depicts the stories of young people taking part in the "Eight Generals" array of Taiwanese temple groups, exploring the inner conflict between their dreams and tradition and the yearning for a way out.
Anne Hung, representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Malaysia, invited people to sample these Taiwanese short films and hopefully get an insight into Taiwan's diverse culture, thus promoting cultural exchange between Taiwan and countries in Southeast Asia.
The SeaShorts Film Festival was founded in 2017 by Malaysian filmmaker Tan Chui Mui with the aim of bringing more Southeast Asian short films to Malaysia. Each year, the event presents a selection of short films from across the region. The festival has been well received and become an important annual event for exchanges between filmmakers and lovers of short films from throughout Southeast Asia. Viewers from around the globe are welcome to join the event. For details, please visit the official website or Facebook page.