The biennial Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF), which had been put on hold for almost a year, will return with a well-curated program of more than 130 films from around the world. From April 30 through May 9, the screenings will be held at Shin Kong Cinemas, SPOT Huashan Cinema, and the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab) in Taipei.
Under the leitmotif "Re-encounter Reality (再見真實)," the festival will kick off with a 88-minute film "Inside the Red Brick Wall (理大圍城)," filmed by the anonymous collective "Hong Kong Documentary Filmmakers." The other segments in the program include "Taiwan Spectrum: Indigenous with a Capital 'I' (台灣切片:如是原民，如是紀錄)," which features documentaries of the Indigenous community from 1994 to 2000, and "Reel Taiwan (時光台灣)," which brings back to screen the classical TV series "Fragrant Formosa (芬芳寶島)" of the 1970s-80s. The restored and digitalized films document the island's cultural diversity.
Originally scheduled to be held from May 1 to 10, 2020, the 12th edition of TIDF was postponed due to the continual spread of COVID-19 around the world. According to the event organizers, they have made effort to mitigate the risks involved by not inviting international guests and modifying the delivery of some programs, such as using pre-recorded interviews, online discussion panels and live broadcasts.
Founded in 1998, TIDF is one of the major professional platforms for documentaries in Asia. It features innovative documentaries with unique points of views which are relevant to social and human interests, and aims to create a platform for quality documentaries from all over the world, and to foster exchange among directors, film professionals and audiences.
The biennial festival also includes festival-related public and educational programs, such as Q&A sessions, workshops, and exhibitions. Each edition of TIDF attracts an audience of more than 25,000.