The animation festival featured the screening of two works by director Tsai Shiu-Cheng, "Time of cherry blossoms" and "A Night with Moosina," on October 23. After the screening, we were fortunate to have director Tsai Shiu-Cheng join us in person to share his creative journey and experiences .

"Time of cherry blossoms," the recipient of the Tokyo Anime Award, incorporates Taiwanese folklore and familiar street scenes to depict a fantasy story between a young boy and an old shrine. "A Night with Moosina," which won the Golden Fireball Award at the Kaohsiung Film Festival, is adapted from the eponymous story in Gan Yaoming's collection of short stories, "Water Ghost School and the Otter Who Lost Its Mother." It similarly integrates Moosina as the element of Taiwanese folk culture into a fantasy folklore, bringing out secrets of them.

After the screening, the director first based his discussion on "A Night with Moosina" and shared many techniques and experiences regarding the animation's production. "A Night with Moosina" used rotoscoping to bring animated characters closer to real people. This allowed a deeper exploration into narration and authenticity, making the plot and reality echo with each other. The director then went on to discuss how he did the rotoscoping, the character design, and how live actors passed the audition, applied their makeup and got filmed.  Animators captured and transformed the actors’ expressions and gestures in their performance. Combined with the exaggerated 2D animation style, this hugely increased the visual impact and dramatic tension to the work. The director also shared how he adjusted the work by periodically reviewing previously made shots to maintain a sense of distance with his work. He mentioned his preference on reading text scripts and other works with different media before bedtime, fusing them with his dream scenes to create different effects that break the traditional narrative logic.

During the Q&A session, an audience member asked why the main characters in the works were always children. The director responded that this choice was rooted in his observations and memories of childhood. Children can maintain the innocence of the story, and he wanted to preserve his memories within his works. Director Xie Wenming also asked, "How do you incorporate Taiwanese imagery that you have collected into your works?" Director Tsai Shiu-Cheng explained that he uses photography to capture the ambiance of Taiwanese folk culture regularly,  think of different narrative approaches and observe people in temples. Finding out stories to be told by looking at people’s clothing and expressions . At the end of the Q&A session, an audience member was curious about the biggest challenge faced when combining 2D and 3D animation. Director Tsai Shiu-Cheng responded that it was to retain a sense of craftsmanship and preserve handmade quality. When creating "A Night with Moosina," during the transition from 3D to 2D, they had to lower the frame rates, adjust and enhance details to make the 3D resource resemble the 2D animation. Additionally, the director wanted to have frame rate adjustments as a technique and material.

"Time of cherry blossoms" and "A Night with Moosina" take the audience on a journey into the realm of fantasy folk tales, presenting Taiwan's unique local culture and atmosphere. Through the post-screening discussion, the audience gained deeper insight into the director's unique creative approach and the magic of the production process.