The Taiwan International Documentary Festival (TIDF) has announced the competition finalists for its 15th edition, set to run 1–10 May 2026. Hosted by the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI), the festival will present shortlisted titles across the Asian Vision Competition, International Competition, Taiwan Competition, and the cross-section TIDF Visionary Award.
The Taiwan Competition drew 246 submissions, with preliminary selection juror So Yo-hen emphasizing a focus on how filmmakers use imagery to map relationships between people and their environments. The festival noted a particularly strong presence of women filmmakers on the Taiwan Competition shortlist, with multiple works rooted in personal and family histories and in formally experimental approaches. Titles highlighted in the program description include Man Mei, which draws on family photo archives to trace Hakka women’s resilience, and LA PALOMA, which reconstructs a family history shaped by the White Terror through interviews and archival material. The world premiere Scenes from Departure is described as unfolding through video calls between father and son.
Beyond Taiwan, the Asian Vision Competition will present 15 films spanning countries and territories including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Iran, and Afghanistan. The International Competition likewise features 15 films from Europe, the Americas, Africa, and Asia, with programming notes highlighting themes such as war and displacement, historical trauma, identity, and marginalisation. Among the war- and conflict-adjacent titles referenced are A Simple Soldier and In Limbo (Russia–Ukraine), alongside films set in Afghanistan and Gaza, including Kabul, Between Prayers, and With Hasan in Gaza.
Screenings will take place at TFAI, SPOT–Huashan, Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-Lab), and other sites, with TFAI stating the edition will include around 140 films in total. Additional programming, such as lecture-performances and listening sessions, will be announced on a rolling basis.
Find more ifnormation on the 2026 TIDF programme – HERE
