“Seeing filmmakers in their most primal form”: Interview with the Short Film Competition Final-stage Jury

The members of the final-stage jury of this year’s Kaohsiung Film Festival International Short Film Competition come from diverse backgrounds. They are British-Palestinian filmmaker Basil KHALIL, Malaysian director Nik Amir MUSTAPHA, Golden Bell Award-winning actress Ivy YIN, Venice Film Festival-winning director Singing CHEN, and renowned Taiwanese director CHENG Wen-tang. Amid a tight viewing schedule, they discussed and exchanged ideas together, and in the end, handed the International Section Golden Fireball Award to the Iranian film 48 Hours, while unanimously deciding on A Night with Moosina as the recipient of the Taiwan Section Golden Fireball Award.

Basil and Nik, both of whom were visiting Taiwan for the first time, said they found the viewing schedule to be incredibly tight, though being able to watch so many Taiwanese short films in one go was also very satisfying. Nik said he didn’t have much exposure to Taiwanese short films before, so what he observed here is that there’s quite a lot of experimental shorts and even many animated films, which he was surprised to find are so popular in Taiwan. He especially wanted to highlight one short, Before the Military Drill, which delves into many cultural issues he was not aware of before. He added that the animated films he saw this time were all technically impressive and had interesting concepts. CHENG Wen-tang explained that there weren’t so many animated films before, noting: “I’m not surprised at all by the diverse content, because Kaohsiung Film Festival has already become a very distinctive and unique festival that is well-known internationally. Young filmmakers in particular are very familiar with it.”

Did the jury have any regrettable omissions? That question stirred up a passionate discussion. Nik said for him, Anu and III were really regrettable omissions. Some awards can only have winners and there was a lot of competition, so they could only give it to one film. But these two films are really good in his opinion. Like Nik, Singing CHEN is also a supporter of III: “Like Nik, III is the one for me. I really, really liked it. The film captures the purity and cruelty that coexist in children and nature; that vagueness and ambiguity is really great. I also really liked the cinematography and sound design. On the whole, I found watching the film quite enjoyable. In terms of  Taiwanese films, I also quite liked Hearing from the Dolphin. Another one is Eggs. I really liked the metaphor of stinkbugs. I hope it can make Taiwanese society pay more attention to this issue (of runaway migrant workers), much like how And Miles to Go Before I Sleep did.”

CHENG Wen-tang also really liked Hearing from the Dolphin: “I think the director really put a lot of effort into making this film, and he conveyed his broad vision effectively. It’s a big film, and I think it’s great. There are also two student films I want to mention. When the Wind Rises has a very distinct style, a style I really admire. Of course, every film has its flaws to some extent, but I still very much encourage this filmmaker to continue focusing on this topic. I heard there are plans to adapt it into a feature film, and when doing so, he can make it more in-depth and get even closer to the subjects he wants to portray. I think he has a bright future. The other one is Sister, which captures the emotions between the sisters very well. Unfortunately, it may have been affected by budgetary and timing constraints, so it had some difficulty breaking through. I think this is something that can be reconsidered to add more details to the sisterly relationship, and I believe it will also achieve great success in the future.”

Ivy YIN, participating in the Kaohsiung Film Festival for the first time, observed that there are many films about women’s rights: “Some of the situations depicted in the short films were beyond my imagination. There are still some races or ethnicities in the world with very oppressive conditions for women, which left quite a deep impression on me. Of course, this also reflects a phenomenon — there are more and more female producers and directors joining this industry.” She also admitted that she really liked the film Bride Stone. Even though it did not win any awards, she said, “The film really made me see that besides fighting for human rights and people’s efforts, divine favor still exists, which really moved me. Additionally, there’s the tranquility of the story and the overall storytelling. I really enjoy and like these kinds of works.” 

Basil said he really liked Korean director ROH Do-hyeon’s film Other Life due to his own high sensitivity to words. There is a lot of dialogue in the film, and Basil believes it is a mature work in terms of dialogue and has quite a good concept, which is why it left a deep impression on him. Even four or five days after watching the film, he was still thinking about it. He said the film was a regrettable omission for him, adding that if there was an award for best screenplay, it surely would have won it.