Taipei: The annual international short film competition "Finding Taiwan" is set to open for submissions by the end of the month, introducing a special prize to commemorate the 50th anniversary of a government-funded magazine.
According to Focus Taiwan, the 2026 edition of this government-organized competition will revolve around the theme "Where We Connect," as announced by Chang Hsiu-chen, head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' (MOFA) Department of International Information Services. The contest aims to promote Taiwan's culture, beauty, and local stories to a global audience. MOFA encourages creators to explore themes such as democracy, innovation, culture, and technology to emphasize Taiwan's global interconnectedness.
This year, a special prize has been introduced to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Taiwan Panorama magazine, Chang added, although details of the prize remain undisclosed. Launched in 1976 and published monthly by MOFA, the bilingual magazine in Chinese-English and Chinese-Japanese versions has highlighted Taiwan's culture, society, and development over the decades.
Chang emphasized that the special prize will motivate creators to utilize the magazine's vast online archive as inspiration for new interpretations and creations, allowing historical images and reports to be revitalized in contemporary forms. Additional information regarding the competition will be shared later this month.
Open to both Taiwanese and foreign nationals, the competition began in 2015 as "Trending Taiwan" and was renamed "Finding Taiwan" in 2025. Last year, the contest received 283 submissions from over 20 countries and territories. The grand prize of NT$200,000 (US$6,337) was awarded to Carl Ivan Baleros from the Philippines for his work "Finding the Beauty of Life in Taiwan."