Competition Introduction and Important Information

  1. Objectives:
        Over the past 10 years, the Trending Taiwan Short Film Competition has received thousands of submissions, showcasing the resilience, vitality, self-confidence, strength and kindness of the people of Taiwan.
        The 10th Trending Taiwan Short Film Competition invites you once again to express yourself through your camera or phone.
        We look forward to discovering anew Taiwan's unique vitality and beauty through your lens.
  2. Criteria:
    • There is no age limit or restriction based on nationality. The competition is open to everyone. There is no registration fee.
    • Those under the age of 18 require a letter of consent from their legal guardian.
    • Those invited to serve as judges for the competition may not enter the competition.
    • Units under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are not eligible to enter the competition.
    • The works submitted shall be original and have never received any award at any other public competition and/or selection.
    • Criteria for Special Student Category:
      Students enrolled at institutions accredited by the ROC Ministry of Education at the time of registration are eligible to submit under this category. This applies to all team members. Student entrants must email: trendingtaiwan2024@gmail.com with proof of enrollment. The subject line of the email should read: "2024潮台灣_submission title_學生團隊之佐證文件."
  3. Submission Period: July 16 – October 10, 2024 (before 23:59:59 Taipei time)
  4. How to Submit: (Note: All entries must be uploaded. DVDs sent by mail will not be accepted)
    • Step 1: Upload the video in the required format to your personal YouTube channel.
    • Step 2: Click the “Submit” button on the official website.
    • Step 3: Fill out the registration information including, entrant category, entrant name and/or team name and bios, filmmakers’ nationality, film theme, film introduction (no more than 300 words), and film URL. Student teams should ensure they meet the requirements and fill out the name of their schools and departments. The consent box for the competition rules and copyright authorization agreement must be ticked in the registration process. ( Download Copyright Authorization Agreement.)
  5. Results Announcement:
    • November 1, 2024 (Fri.): the names of the 26 shortlisted submissions will be announced on the event website.
    • November 14, 2024 (Thu.): The list of winners will be announced at an awards ceremony. There will be 16 winners, who will be required to sign a copyright authorization agreement.
  6. Awards Ceremony: November 13, 2024(Wed)
  7. Winners Announced on Website: November 14, 2024 (Thu).
  8. In addition to the Creative Theme Category, the Reel-style Short Video Category, the Student Special Category, and the prize of shortlisted entries, we are introducing a new prize for videos that get the most votes online.
        9. (1) 11 submissions will be awarded under the Creative Theme.
        (2) 3 submissions will be awarded under the Reel-style Short Video category.
        (3) 2 submissions will be awarded under Student Special category.
        The above prizewinners will receive cash prizes and certificates.
        (4) All the shortlisted submissions that don't receive awards will receive certificates.
        (5) The 3 submissions voted the most popular on the official site under both the Creative Theme and Reel-style Short Video categories (6 prizes in totall) will also be awarded gift vouchers.
  9. Film Requirements:
        10. Creative Theme Category

    • Subject matter and setting: Taiwan should be the subject matter or main backdrop for the film, and the works should tell a local story or portray a moment of beauty that will resonate with international audiences.

    • Film duration: Submissions (including the opening, the primary content and the credits) should not exceed three minutes, based on the YouTube broadcast time. Submissions exceeding the duration limit will be disqualified without notice.

    • The film’s aspect ratio should be 16:9.

    • There are no requirements for the type or brand of camera equipment to be used in the making of the film, however, a minimum resolution of 1920x1080 is required.

    • When uploading the film to YouTube please title it following the format below: Film name – 2024 Trending Taiwan, e.g., ‘I Just Love Taiwan - 2024 Trending Taiwan’. Both the Chinese "潮台灣" and English "Trending Taiwan" logos must be embedded throughout the video. The logos can be downloaded here.

        • Reel-style Short Video Category

    • Subject matter and setting: Taiwan should be the subject matter or main backdrop for the film, and the works should tell a local story or portray a moment of beauty that will resonate with international audiences.

    • Film duration: Submissions (including the opening, the primary content and the credits) should not exceed 60 seconds in length, based on the YouTube broadcast time. Submissions exceeding the duration limit will be disqualified without notice.

    • The video’s aspect ratio should be 9:16.

    • There are no requirements for the type or brand of camera equipment to be used in the making of the film, however, a minimum resolution of 1080x1920 is required.

    • When uploading the film to YouTube please title it following the format below: Film name –《潮台灣短影音》, e.g., ‘Love Taiwan - 《潮台灣短影音》’. Both the Chinese "潮台灣" and English "Trending Taiwan" logos must be embedded throughout the video. The logos can be downloaded here.

  10. Film Theme

        11. Although you're free to choose your own subject matter, films themed around the power of Taiwan' s benevolence are strongly encouraged, highlighting stories that demonstrate Taiwan' s contributions, strength and kindness and its impact on the world.

        Films with themes involving interactions between Taiwanese people and individuals from the New Southbound Policy (NSP) target countries including ASEAN member states, India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, New Zealand, and Australia are also strongly encouraged.

  11. Other Information:

    • Entrants are advised to consider the requirements for broadcast across different platforms including the rights to musical composition and public broadcast on multiple platforms during the film-making process and should leave space for foreign language subtitles. The font of any text used should be sized appropriately for viewing comfort (even on mobile phones).

    • Panorama VR submissions are welcome but are not a requirement for the competition.

    • Entrants are encouraged to be creative and choose innovative subject matters.

    • In the event of any violation of the competition rules, any infringement, and/or any other illegalities, the organizer reserves the right to disqualify the entry and recover the awarded prize; for details on copyright rules please refer to the Copyright License Agreement on the event page.

    • If the majority of the judges are in agreement, the organizer may choose to "not award" or increase the number of places in other categories based on the quality of submissions and the judging process.

    • The organizer reserves the right to determine if any of the works submitted have participated in any other selections in addition to this competition, whether there have been any duplicate submissions, whether any work submitted has already been awarded but has then been adapted, edited, and/or rehashed for this competition, and/or whether there is any forgery, fraudulence, or illegitimacy. In the event of any of the aforementioned violations or issues, the organizer may disqualify any entrant and revoke any award won, and the organizer reserves the right to prosecute. Upon registration, entrants shall check the box, stating "I understand the competition rules and shall agree to abide by the Copyright License Agreement herein."
    • Participation in the competition shall be considered acceptance of all the activities and related rules of the competition. Any violation of the competition rules is subject to disqualification from the competition and its awards, and the organizer reserves the right to prosecute any violation.
    • The organizer shall use the personal data provided by entrants only for the purpose of this event and shall abide by the Personal Data Protection Act to protect entrants’ rights. Participation in the competition shall be considered acceptance of the organizer’s collection, processing and other use of entrants’ personal data for the sole purpose of this event. Entrants also hereby authorize the organizer to publicize their names.
  12. Voting rules for the People’s Choice Award:

    • All qualifying entries to the competition are also eligible for the People’s Choice Award. (the votes will not be taken into consideration in the judging process.)

    • The voting period for this award will be August 20-October 10, 2024.

    • Each person (as identified by IP address) may only vote once per day (the voting system will reset at midnight each night).

    • The organizer reserves the right to adjust vote tallies if attempts to manipulate the voting process are discovered, or, in more serious cases, the right to disqualify the entry from the People' s Choice Award.

    • The top 3 entries with the highest number of votes in the creative and reel-style categories will receive a gift certificate worth NT$3,000 each (a total of 6 winning entries). The organizer reserves the right to select the final prize.

    • Winner of the People's Choice Award are not allowed to request cash redemption, return, resale (transfer) or exchange their prizes.

    • If any hacking or other illegal behavior breaks the rules of this competition, the prize will be revoked. The organizer reserves the right to legal recourse against the relevant participants or prizewinners.