New Taipei City Documentary Award's 'New Taipei Day' Lands in Bangkok, Expanding International Reach

The New Taipei City Documentary Award has partnered with the Taiwan Film Festival Thailand this year to present a special 'New Taipei Day' (New Taipei City Day) screening program during the festival. On July 24, 2024, three outstanding past selections—'Where the Sea Breeze Blows,' 'The Underground Life of No. 66,' and 'The Battle of the Mari Sect'—were screened at Century The Movie Plaza Sukhumvit in Bangkok, Thailand, receiving enthusiastic responses from the audience and allowing international viewers to discover New Taipei and Taiwan through documentary storytelling.

For the 2026 Taiwan Film Festival Thailand's 'New Taipei Day,' directors Hsiao Yu-ju of 'The Underground Life of No. 66' and Yu Wei-ching of 'The Battle of the Mari Sect' participated in post-screening discussions, engaging directly with local audiences. The event was also supported by the founder and curator of the Documentary Club Thailand, the festival's organizing team.

The Department of Information and Tourism stated that the New Taipei City Documentary Award is entering its 16th year, serving as a crucial launchpad for many talented filmmakers. To date, it has nurtured over 150 documentary works, supporting creators from short films to feature-length releases and theater screenings, while continuously facilitating international exposure for these works.

This year's Taiwan Film Festival Thailand, themed 'Family Matters,' ran from July 22 to 26, featuring 17 carefully selected Taiwanese films across 27 screenings. 'New Taipei Day' highlighted three films exploring family dynamics and life circumstances: Chen Shao-chun's 'Where the Sea Breeze Blows' traces a retired ship to examine family trauma and healing; Hsiao Yu-ju's 'The Underground Life of No. 66' observes the daily lives of elderly individuals living alone in basement apartments, drawing attention to aging society issues—Hsiao expressed hope that international screenings would raise awareness of the living conditions of isolated seniors; Yu Wei-ching's 'The Battle of the Mari Sect' uses 'organizing' as a lens to explore intimacy and estrangement within families, and she expressed gratitude to the New Taipei City Documentary Award for enabling broader international visibility.

The Department emphasized its ongoing commitment to strengthening ties with international film festivals and building the 'New Taipei Day' brand, aiming to collaborate with more global partners to connect cities and cultures through visual storytelling. Following its debut at the Boston Taiwan Film Festival last year, the 'New Taipei Day' screening program has now been successfully launched at the Thailand event, reaffirming New Taipei's determination to connect Taiwan's documentary cinema with the world.

Additionally, the Department's delegation met with Documentary Club (Thailand's documentary distribution platform), the Thai Film Archive, and the Thailand Film Office (official filming support agency) to exchange insights on curation, film co-production, and cross-border collaborations. These engagements not only build bridges between Taiwan and Thailand's film industries but also increase opportunities for New Taipei's film sector to interact globally, reinforcing its image as a film-friendly city.

For more information on New Taipei City's documentary events, please visit the official website or search for the Facebook fan page 'Inspiration Is Everywhere!'.