Couldn’t attend this year’s Taiwan-based Sundance Film Festival Asia? TaiwanPlus and Sundance have collaborated to bring you the shortlisted films from this year’s short film competition to global audiences. Judged by a talented international panel of experts, this year’s competition gave Taiwanese directors a chance to bring their genre-breaking creations to the global stage. See the winning film, shortlisted selections, and interviews with directors for free on the TaiwanPlus Docs YouTube channel until December 31st, 2023.
- Winner: Tuo Tuo by An Chu
This somber short film explores the relationship between Hai and an unusual costar — the family deer. During his weekend leave from the military, Hai comes home to help with his family’s deer farm. Only then does he find out that the deer who had once cured his childhood illness was sent away. With the smell of grass and blood fresh in the air, Hai looks back on his memories.
- Unexpected Passenger by Hsia Jui-chien
This short film is full of scares and surprising turns as viewers follow a taxi driver on a heartfelt journey. In the dead of the night, the driver encounters a mysterious passenger who gives a strange location and says no more — hinting at a hidden and ominous secret.
- Burning by Tang Hao
This coming-of-age story follows Ming-kai and Ah-jie, two friends trying to find their place in a world that wasn’t made for them. Childhood wanders into a tale of fear and loss, and the two boys find themselves occupying an empty rooftop and building their world around their curiosities, dreams, and memories.
- Afterlife by Hsueh Lo-yi and Huang Sheng-chun
This short film follows Jintaro, a man who designed tombs for 60 years. In this beautifully shot and engaging tale of craftsmanship, you learn that despite all his work, he wasn’t buried with his wife after he died.
- The Train of Memories by Jeremiah Chen
This visually captivating film tells a relatable story, where the frames of negativity spin rapidly like the passing scenery outside a moving train. It skillfully weaves through fragmented memories, offering a hopeful narrative of finding relief from suffering, set against the backdrop of beautiful moments at birth.
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