The 13th Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival (TIEFF)
October 16–20, 2025 | Taipei, Taiwan

Founded in 2001, the Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival (TIEFF) is the oldest biennial ethnographic film festival in Asia. For the past 25 years, TIEFF has been dedicated to showcasing ethnographic films from Taiwan and around the world. Through presenting diverse topics explored by anthropologists and their fieldwork, the festival demonstrates how film, as a medium, can achieve what written ethnography alone often cannot—pushing the boundaries of ethnographic practice.

Beyond the main events held in Taipei, TIEFF is also committed to audience outreach, curating and bringing selected films to communities and campuses throughout Taiwan.

TIEFF 2025 Theme: “Fables of De/Industrialization”
This edition of TIEFF centers on the theme “Fables of De/Industrialization”, focusing on the processes and consequences of post/industrial transformations.

The curatorial team invites submissions that explore both the material and mythical dimensions of de/industrialization. The word fable evokes meanings of legend, myth, parable, and storytelling. Through this lens, we hope to use ethnographic films to depict the strange—and at times intangible—experiences of infrastructure, ruination, and displacement. These experiences reflect what Rob Nixon terms slow violence—the gradual yet massive scale of oppression and destruction brought about by socioeconomic change.

Although slow violence may operate beyond the traditional scales of ethnographic observation, its impact becomes apparent in the concrete details and entangled realities of industrial development and decline. Its presence often resonates in both fables and the ordinary, everyday. How can ethnographic film represent the bizarre, absurd, and unspeakable aspects of post/industrial life?

We especially welcome works that explore processes of discontinuity, refusal, and cultural memory. With fable as a core concept, we encourage experimental ethnographic approaches, as well as films grounded in meticulous, local observation.