Taiwan animation “Libangbang–The coming of the flying fish” took home the best animation and best animator awards at the 2021 Big Syn International Film Festival in the U.K., according to the Cabinet-level Council of Indigenous Peoples Nov. 23.
Produced by the CIP and Taipei City-based Bright Ideas for Life Co., the animation was among nearly 400 submissions from 60 countries contending for top honors at this year’s edition of the event. Running Oct. 24 to 31, the event included screening of about 50 films, animations, and documentaries.
The awarded film is about the indigenous Yami people who settled on the outlying island of Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island, where flying fish are a food source, as well as the origin of daily life and rituals, the CIP said. Set in the 17th century, a Dutch sailor visits Orchid Island and begins to experience the culture, ceremonies and lives of the Yami tribe community, the council added.
According to the CIP, “Basibas–Coming-of-age ceremony” and “Libangbang–The coming of the flying fish” by the same producer and production company were both nominated for the 2021 BSIFF. The latter was chosen by the jury, becoming the first animation from Asia to win the best animation award at the event, the council added .
Founded in 2019, the Big Syn International Film Festival is the world’s biggest, not-for-profit, online film festival, inspiring viewers to act on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. (DL-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw