We present the winners of the Kaohsiung International Short Film Festival which took place from October 10th – 27th, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

About the festival:
Kaohsiung International Short Film Competition is dedicated to discovering new filmmakers and to enhance cultural exchanges through short films. We are extremely looking forward to bringing your culture and short film to Taiwan.

International Grand Prize

Blessed Land by Pham Ngoc Lan – Vietnam | 2019 – 19 minutes

In the dune landscape of a cemetery, or is it golf course? Past and present converge in the search for a grave.

Man Man Er Asian New Wave Award

The Booth by Rohin Raveendran Nair – India | 2018 – 15 minutes

A female frisking booth inside a crowded shopping mall stands as a silent ally to a forbidden romance.

Formosa Vision Award

Watermelon Juice by Irene Moray – Spain | 2019 – 22 minutes

Barbara and Pol spend a few days on holiday with a group of friends in a house surrounded by nature. They want to have a good time and find a peaceful space where they can enjoy their intimacy. With the support of Pol, in the midst of nature, between tears and laughter, Barbara will heal old wounds and redefine her sexuality.

Jury Prize

Blessed is the Man by Asaf Saban – Israel | 2018 – 13 minutes

Baruch, a loner petty man, is used to be invisible to other people and he is making his living by doing small dirty tricks. Following a friendly gesture, he is confronted by an unexpected judge – a boy who shares a similar misfortune.

Special Mention

New Land Broken Road by Neang Kavich – Cambodia, Malaysia | 2018 – 15 minutes

Phnom Penh at night. Three young hip-hop dancers drive a motorbike and stop on a muddy deserted road. Nick leaves the others to look for an iPhone he heard was lost in the area. Piseth and Thy discuss their hopes and doubts, and Piseth shows his best Michael Jackson moves. They meet Leakhena, a young female street vendor whose cart is full of colors.

Mr. Eichmann and the Maverick Goat by Cheng Qiao – UK | 2019 – 3 minutes

‘Mr. Eichmann and the Maverick Goat’ is about an obedient workman and a rebellious goat. This short film was inspired by the Stanley Milgram experiment and explores if Mr. Eichmann would follow an inhuman order when pressured by a higher authority. The film is allegorical with a subtext challenging the compliance of the proletariat with authoritarian regimes.

Swatted by Ismael Joffroy Chandoutis – France | 2018 – 21 minutes

Online players describe their struggles with “swatting”, a life-threatening cyber-harassment phenomenon that looms over them whenever they play. The events take shape through Youtube videos and wireframe images from a video game.

Brotherhood by Meryam Joobeur – Canada | 2018 – 25 minutes

The film centers around Mohamed, a hardened shepherd living in rural Tunisia with his wife and two sons. Mohamed is deeply shaken when his son Malek returns home after a long journey with a mysterious new wife in tow, a return that builds in tension between father and son until finally reaching its breaking point.

The Distance between us and the Sky by Vasilis Kekatos – Greece | 2019 – 9 minutes

Night, national road. Two strangers meet for the first time at an old gas station. One has stopped to gas up his bike, while the other is just stranded. Lacking the €22.50 he needs to get home, he will try to sell the distance that separates them from the sky.

Man Man Er Taiwan Grand Prize

Adorable by Chung Cheng-Hsu – Taiwan | 2018 – 6 minutes

An animated film that presents a journey of a queer person where he explores his sexuality and the queer community.

Jury Prize

Tiptoe by Lin I-ju – Taiwan | 2019 – 16 minutes

It has been almost a week since mother left home. The ten-year-old girl Jiajia and her seven-year-old brother Kai try to follow their mother’s daily routines while waiting for her to come back. Jiajia tries to maintain the usual daily lives with Kai, but it has not been easy for her.

Special Mention

The Sound of Falling by Lin Chien-Yu – Taiwan | 2018 – 13 minutes

An impressionistic film portraying the lost of freedom and the fading of life through a decision an orchardist of a tangerine farm made in his ordinary day.

Chi: The Method of Breathing by Liu Yi – Taiwan | 2018 – 25 minutes

Shuo is a Taiwanese American high school student studying in Taiwan. He accidentally finds that his classmate, Chia can use kung fu one day. It turns out that Chia is part of a hidden martial arts society. Through the studying of “Chi” he discovers his hidden talents, but at what cost?

Last Year when the train passed by Huang Pang-Chuan – France | 2018 – 18 minutes

“What were you doing while I took this photo when the train passed through your house last year ?”

Taiwan Student Award

Gorilla in the Washing Machine by Hung Huei-Jen – Taiwan | 2019 – 8 minutes

Late at night, there are animals minding their own business beside a lake. Some of them meet at the end, and then they drink tea and making sticky rice happily together ever since. This is a film about metaphors, view with a caution.

Man Man Er VR Grand Prize

Eve, Dance is an Unplaceable Place by Daniel Gonzalez y Margherita Bergamo – France | 2018 – 20 minutes

Eve makes possible the encounter between virtual and real, travelling among dimensions, giving shape to questions. In this encounter, users enter the body of Eve and travel into stories thanks to an incarnation – that is to say the virtual reality experience. Eve is like a Pachamama, the so-called goddess revered by the indigenous people of the Andes, known as the earth and time mother. She is an ever-present and independent deity who has her own self-sufficient and creative power to sustain life on earth.

Special Mention

Bodyless by Huang Hsin-Chien – Taiwan | 2019 – 31 minutes

The story is from director’s childhood memories which depicts the reduction of humanity by military government during the martial law, the colonial culture as well as the digital era into a story beyond reality.

Phalanity Best VR Immersive Award

The Line by Ricardo Laganaro – Brazil | 2019 – 12 minutes

Set upon a scale-model of 1940s São Paulo, the experience transforms the user into a child who unlocks this enchanted world. Through this world, they experience the story of Pedro and Rosa, two miniature dolls who are perfect for each other, but reluctant to break boundaries and overcome their limitations to live out their love story.

Funique VR Best VR360

Accused #2: Walter Sisulu by Nicolas Champeaux, Giles Porte – France | 2019 – 14 minutes

The story of the struggle against Apartheid is symbolised by one man: Nelson Mandela. He came to public notice during a historic trial in 1964. Seven co-accused were sentenced with him to hard labour for life. Among them, Walter Sisulu, the grey eminence of the movement, was the first co-defendant to take on the formidable prosecutor Percy Yutar. Today, with 256 hours of audio recordings of the hearings, we can relive that battle and, through those remarkable resources, (re) discover the story of the ANC’s fight against Apartheid.