Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology organized the Sixth South
Utopia Animation Festival on March 19 and20, a grand debut that attracted nearlyten thousand people

Taiwan Original Animation and Gaming Industry Alliance of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology organized the Sixth South Utopia Animation Festival on March 19 and 20 in the school gymnasium. The event offered enthusiasts for creation and animation a lot of exchange tips and a best place to learn. It was expected to attract nearly ten thousand people.

【STUST President Chien Tai (front row second from right) made an on-site visit to the festival and gave workers great support】

With the theme of “Chocolate,” the festival offered a great display of dessert-themed works of animation creation, together with a "Chocolate" themeatic studio. With elaborate dessert puppets, the studio provided cosplay lovers and photography enthusiasts a great opportunity to learn and share. In addition, with the hundreds of paintings selected through an on-line poll, there was a Chocolate Dream Star Exhibition, supported by more than 200 booths and stands that showed original animation display, the festival brought out the creative energy of plenty of Taiwanese animation creators. There were more than 200 cosplay characters outside the festival for freelance photographers on the beautiful campus. Southern ITASHA community offered a dozen of steam locomotive for exhibited color painting, showing the bright lights of the art animation painted cars. South Utopia Animation Festival has been held by STUST for 6 consecutive years, each attracting a great number of animation creators and exhibitors and more than ten thousand visitors. It has become one of the largest comic shows in southern Taiwan.

【A scene in South Utopia Animation Festival】

In comparison with the booming animation industry in Japan and South Korea, Taiwan needs to see the local animation industry work on a vertical supply chain cooperation to offer concerted activities for aspiring talent to pass through their learning stage and into the industry. STUST has set up Taiwan Original Animation and Gaming Industry Alliance, in the hope to create opportunities for the young people through Southern Utopia Animation Festival and to explore potential talent and stars in the future. Through professional counseling, business matchmaking, and systematic training of professional animation creators, strong roots of animation industry shall go down deeply in a wider scale.

【President Chien Tai of Southern Taiwan University of Science and Technology (in the middle row), school executives and cosplay characters】

In the venue there was a Creation Trading Area, where young animation workers were introduced to the media, anime publishers, game manufacturers, and other member companies that promote the creation of prime commercial and professional. This year, the Department of Multimedia and Computer Entertainment of STUST continued to host 2016 Comic Stars Industry Personnel Training Program by the Ministry of Culture Comics, opening three original comic development programs in the South, the Middle, and the North of Taiwan. This will fortify the cultivation of comic stars for the Improvement of comics environment as well as the industrial structure and development of dedicated personnel. It is expected that Taiwan's animation industry, with all these efforts, can become a new star in the future.

【STUST South Utopia Animation Festival—shooting site】