A documentary depicting Taiwan’s outlying Kinmen County has been shortlisted among 15 works vying for best documentary short honors at the 96th Academy Awards, among 10 categories announced on Thursday.
Island in Between (金門), directed by S. Leo Chiang (江松長), is a work produced by Chiang in conjunction with CNEX Studio Corp and the New York Times to familiarize the world with Taiwan, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
The 19-minute film “weaves lyrical vignettes of tourist visits and local life with [Chiang’s] own narrative as someone negotiating ambivalent personal bonds to Taiwan, China and the US” the New York Times wrote in describing the documentary.
Photo courtesy of CNEX via CNA
“I made this film hoping to contribute to a deeper understanding of the Taiwan Strait crisis through the eyes of the people who live in it, including myself. I hope that my film can play a small part in advocating for peace,” Chiang told the New York Times.
Chiang — who was born in Taiwan, grew up in the US and worked in China — said that his background “has given me a front-row seat to the decades-long complex dance between these nations.”
Through his work, he hoped to explore the “uneasy peace” in Taiwan, he said.
Minister of Culture Shih Che (史哲) said in the statement that the film making the Oscars shortlist demonstrated Taiwan’s soft power.
Hopefully, the documentary would win, he said.
The documentary is available to view for free on the New York Times’ Op-Docs channel.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced the shortlist for best international feature film.
Taiwan’s submission, Marry My Dead Body (關於我和鬼變成家人的那件事), was not included. Among the 15 that made the list were Perfect Days from Japan and The Monk and the Gun from Bhutan.
The Oscars finalists are to be announced on Jan. 23 and the winners at the award ceremony on March 10.
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