Taiwan bird documentary wins awards at American film festivals

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) A Taiwanese documentary “Flight – Exploring the Life of Birds,” recently won a Gold Award and an Award of Excellence at two American film festivals.

According to a statement released by Taijiang National Park Headquarters Wednesday, the film won a Gold Award in the Nature & Wildlife, Film & Video Productions category at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, held between April 23 and April 28.

It also won an Award of Excellence in the Nature/Environment/Wildlife category at the Accolade Global Film Competition.

The documentary by director Liao Tung-kun (廖東坤) captured birds flying, foraging, migrating, molting, and breeding at the Taijiang National Park in Tainan. Birds tend to fly south from or stay in the park for the winter as it is located on one of Asia’s bird migration routes and has wetland ecosystems such as salt marshes, fishponds, mangroves, coastal forests, and lagoons.

The film took over two years to make, with every frame the result of endless waiting and repeated shots, the statement said.

This included the crew disguising themselves under the scorching sun for 13 hours a day over four consecutive days in an attempt to film a tern hatching, the statement added.

In addition, the crew also witnessed the drastic impact of climate change, such as drought and heavy rain, on migratory birds.

“What we can do is to give them better habitats, allowing these migratory guests to have a more serene environment with abundant resources (to live in),” Liao said.

According to the headquarters, Taiwan is a hub of bird migration with nearly 700 bird species logged in the country. The film recorded more than 400 species of birds in Taijiang National Park alone.