2012 Urban Nomad Awards

“Time of Cherry Blossoms" director Tsai Shui-cheng (left)

In 2012, more than 160 short films were submitted to Urban Nomad. Of these, we chose about 35 for our short film programs, and selected seven nominees. Prizes were decided by an independent jury of three members, Lee Yao-hua, Brook Hall and Shu Kuo-chih. The winners are as follows:

THE BIG NOMAD (NT$20,000)： 
【Time of Cherry Blossoms】
Director：Tsai Shui-cheng 蔡旭晟
JURY STATEMENT: Time of Cherry Blossoms sets young boys as its main characters, and their playtime with the gods of an old temple takes place between the real and the imaginary. Friendships between the boys and the gods are established, and at the same time we're shown a natural way of relating between the world of people and the world of spirits. But then, due to the disregard (or arrogance?) of the adult world of men, the boys' new friends are dispelled and returned to the spirit world. The filmmaker has designed both his human and otherworldly characters tale using a rich array of color and imagination. Visually there is no large gulf between them and this indeed is his major theme.. - Lee Yao-hua

片尾主題曲點名創作宗旨，旋律輕快優美，不論詞或曲都再一次重申生死、 人界神界一線之隔的關係。至於男孩的經歷是真是夢，也不用再多追究了！－ 李耀華

Short Film Awards Tonight!!!

Which of this year's field of about 25 short films will win the 2012 BIG NOMAD PRIZE? Find out today from 7:15 to 9:15pm, when we screen a bunch of fantastic nominated shorts, hold the final voting for the audience choice award, and for good measure throw in a performance of traditional Macedonian music (just because it's awesome!) and last but not least: cloud porn.

What could be better? Admission is only NT$50!!!

The Big Nomad Award (NT$20,000) and a Jury Prize ($10,000) will be selected by an independent jury. This year's jurors are Lee Yao-hua (film director), Brook Hall (theater director) and Shu Kuo-chih (writer). The Audience Choice Award (NT$10,000) will be selected by you, the audience!

The nominees for this year's Big Nomad Award and other jury prizes are as follows:

Taiwan Oyster: Encore Screening Sunday 12:20pm

After two packed houses for The Taiwan Oyster at Urban Nomad, and numerous requests for another showing, we are giving the film an encore. We've scheduled an extra screening for Sunday, April 22 at 12:20pm. Several cast and crew, including two co-producers of the film and a number of actors, are still in Taiwan and we'll invite some for a post-film Q&A. The list of attendees will be announced soon.

This will be Oyster's last showing in Taiwan for the time being, and the people who see it here are among the first anywhere to watch it. This is a truly brand new film, with Urban Nomad just its second festival appearance following the world premier at SXSW last month. We of course hope the film gets picked up for local distribution, but these things take time. So don't wait for several more months or possibly more than a year! The Nomad is happy to bring you the Oyster one more time!

FILM: The Taiwan Oyster (special added screening)
TIME: Sunday, April 22, 12:20pm
TICKET: NT$220 / $170 student
ADVANCE: $200 (at the Urban Nomad festival box office through April 21)

Opening Night Photos

Full house for 2012 UNFF Opening Film: The Taiwan Oyster

Too many softball questions at the Q&A? Maybe, but there's one screening left. Bring it people!

The Jarrett Brothers: Producer Mitchell (left) and director Mark (standing in front of a installation we commissioned from local graffiti artist Candy Bird)

PHOTOS: Garrett M. Clarke and Steven Vigar (UP AGAINST THE WALL ASIA)

Taiwan Oyster Director and Producer to Attend Opening

Mark Jarrett, director of The Taiwan Oyster

Mark and Mitchell Jarrett, director and producer of The Taiwan Oyster, will arrive in Taiwan on Wednesday night in advance of the film's Asian premier as the Opening Film of the 2012 Urban Nomad Film Fest on Thursday (4/12). If anyone is wondering if there is a back story connecting The Taiwan Oyster and Urban Nomad, there most certainly is. Urban Nomad founders Sean Scanlan and Dave Frazier knew Oyster director Mark Jarrett when he lived in Taichung between 1999 and 2001. We remember Mark driving a shuttle bus to the first ever rave in Kenting, a Taiwanese pickup truck - or was it a van? - that departed irregularly from Spring Scream, back when that music festival was a the Liufu Ranch at the foot of the big knife-shaped mountain that overlooks the Kenting seaside. It may not have been the best conceived of all plans, and you could say Mark's new movie, The Taiwan Oyster, is a reflection of those kinds of manic quests that he experienced while on this island. We certainly recognized it as such.

We Were Here: Special Advance Tickets

Yesterday (Friday 4/6) we began offering a special run of discounted advance tickets for the film WE WERE HERE at two locations in Gongguan. The tickets cost $200 (or $20 cheaper than at the door), and the quantity is limited. You can get the tickets at:

GinGin Store

#8, Alley 8, Lane 210, Sec 3, Roosevelte Rd, Taipei

www.ginginbooks.com

Love Boat

#11, Lane 240, Sec 3, Roosevelte Rd, Taipei

www.lesloveboat.com

REMINDER: Regular advance ticket sales (through iNDIEVOX) end on April 11 at midnight. After that, you can buy tickets for all remaining screenings at festival's ticket sales area at Huashan. 

In the News

The Taiwan Oyster: Asian premier 4/12 @ Urban Nomad 

Taipei Times coverage of Urban Nomad is out today:

"Over the past decade, the Urban Nomad Film Festival has brought some of the most exciting and thought-provoking indie films from around the world to Taipei." - Catherine Shu, Taipei Times

TT's story also has Urban Nomad director David Frazier talking about hosting the upcoming Asian premier of The Taiwan Oyster, how the festival has cultivated a new audiences for docs on "culture, technology and activism", and lots of other things that make us sound, well, really good. Read the rest in the Taipei Times.

In the companion piece, we got a big ol' kick out of Alita Rickards' take on the Trippple Nippples, the Tokyo band who'll play our whompin' opening party on April 14.

"Headlining the night is Japanese art-dance-fashionista-freaks Trippple Nippples. Think Lady Gaga triplets crossed with gross-out band Gwar, and you still aren’t even close."

Further down, Rickards writes:

"The group’s wild stage antics and messy costumes have had them kicked out of various venues. 'You should think about how you could mess us up rather than worrying about how you can get away from getting messed up,' warned Yuka Nippple, who describes the group’s music as 'headache and stomachache and strawberry ice cream.'"

Read the rest here.