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.

UN2012: The Basic Info

DATES: 4/12 - 4/22

LOCATION: Huashan 1914 Creative Park, Building 3-East, 1, Sec 1, Bade Rd, Taipei

SCHEDULE: Feature Documentaries  +  Short Films

DOWNLOAD THE SCHEDULE (.PDF)

TAIPEI FILM SCREENINGS: 
At the door: $220/ $170 student ID
Advance sales (thru 4/11): $200/ $170 or 4-ticket packs for $680

OPENING PARTY (4/14) 
with Trippple Nippples + Mochipet: 
$700 Door / $600 Advance

GENERAL TICKET INFO
This year we will feature a SHORT FILM HAPPY HOUR each weekday from 6-7pm. Admission is free with any ticket the 7pm screening that night, so come early and check out some killer shorts! Or if you only want to see the shorts, admission is NT$50. Advance tickets are on sale for all screenings through Indievox.com. We know a lot of people are used to buying tickets at the door, but some screenings will probably sell out, so for films you really want to see, we recommend you buy advance tickets. They're also a little cheaper. For news about ticket availability and sold-out screenings, please check the main page on this site and our Facebook page.

WHERE TO BUY PARTY TICKETS?
KGB 台北市師大路114巷5號 5, Lane 114, Shida Rd (02) 2363-6015
Toasteria (Shida)  台北市雲和街72巷1號 Yun-He St, Lane 72, #1 (02) 2365-3051
Toasteria (Zhongxiao) 台北市忠孝東路4段248巷2號 #2 Lane 248, Zhong Xiao East Rd. Sec 4. (02) 2731-8004
Toasteria (Dunhua) 台北市敦化南路一段169巷3號 #3, Lane 169, Sec 1, Tunhua S Rd

HOW TO BUY FILM TICKETS ONLINE 
http://www.indievox.com/urbannomadfilmfest/events/ 
To buy tickets through Indievox, you must first register and create an Indievox account. Once you click and buy your tickets, you get a code which you can take to any 7-Eleven, where you can pay cash. Get step-by-step instructions: right here!

2012 Film Submissions

Dear film directors: You guys are the best! Urban Nomad's selection committee has been enjoying the heck out of watching your films over the last couple of weeks, and especially the mad crunch this past weekend. A list of received films is below at the link. It includes the following information: film title (Chinese and English), country of production, language, subtitle language. We will announce the list of accepted films within the next two weeks, so please be patient until then. Thanks again for sending us your films!

List of 2012 Film Submissions

OPENING PARTY: SAT, APRIL 14

THIS ONE'S GOING FULL BLAST!

The annual Urban Nomad party is not going to try to be weirder than last year, though who knows, it might happen anyway? Instead of going for all-out strangeness, this time we’re going for raw energy, so we put together the best lineup of full-blast and highly visual bands and DJs we could find, including Japan’s fashion-art-dance-rock-bizarrities TRIPPPLE NIPPPLES, a San Francisco DJ who dresses like a purple dinosaur, MOCHIPET, and home favorites GO CHIC, DJ NOODLES, FUNKY BROTHERS and MARCUS AURELIUS. In addition expect plenty of projectors, VJs and a whole warehouse full of trippy fun.

2012 SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN!!!

DEADLINE (Feature Films): February 15, 2012 (SUBMISSIONS CLOSED)
DEADLINE (Short Films): March 1, 2012
* Please note, these are deadlines for RECEIVING films (not mailing films).

SHORT FILM COMPETITION: NT$40,000 IN PRIZES

In 2012, Urban Nomad's short film competition will award two jury prizes, with a top prize of NT$20,000 and a second prize of NT$10,000 for "Taiwanese short films". This means films of 45 minutes or less by Taiwanese filmmakers, filmmakers who are residents of Taiwan, or films produced in Taiwan or with some strong connection to Taiwan.

NEW! The Audience Choice Award (NT$10,000) is now open to films from Chinese-speaking territories in Asia, including but not limited to Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Malaysia.

Urban Nomad has the right to decide all questions of eligibility for competitions.