News source:Shennao Technology and Education Foundation>

The Shennao Technology and Education Foundation, in collaboration with National Pingtung University (NPTU), a partner school in this project, is launching the "Different Ideas Art Festival × Shennao Documentary: Beyond Barriers Film Festival." This initiative centers on NPTU's USR (University for the Responsive Persons) project, "Making Life Different – Services for Adults with Disabilities: Resilience and Recreation," and integrates a cross-disciplinary aesthetic education community. Twelve documentaries themed around resilience, diversity, and self-identity have been selected from past "Indigenous Peoples' Exploration Documentary Awards" nominees and winners. Through an online film festival and promotion at Shennao stores nationwide, the event invites the public to see the diverse facets of life through these true stories.

The film festival opened on October 14 at National Pingtung University, kicking off the nearly two-month-long "Arts Beyond the Ordinary" festival. This collaboration goes beyond simply screening films; it aims to explore the possibilities of film education by using university students' self-curated projects, digital community collaboration, and on-site educational applications to make documentaries a medium for promoting understanding, initiating dialogue, and fostering interdisciplinary learning.

Young curators independently curate exhibitions, conducting interdisciplinary experiments through digital collaboration.

The "Beyond Barriers Film Festival" is curated and produced by Professor Tung-Sheng Teng, Vice Dean of the College of Science at National Pingtung University. The festival brings together undergraduate, master's, and graduate students to form a youth curatorial team. With "Images Without Boundaries, Understanding Without Limits" as its core spirit, the team actively participates in the planning and creation of the film festival, from film selection and theme interpretation to visual design.

Unlike traditional curatorial models that primarily rely on physical venues, this team attempted to use virtual communities as the main collaborative platform, combined with physical activities and exchanges, to break through the limitations of time and space and explore new curatorial models in the digital age.

Professor Teng Tsung-sheng also established an "AI Lab" to encourage young people to use digital tools for interdisciplinary creation and collaboration. The film festival's main visual poster, "Beyond the Barrier," was designed by Kuo Nai-ling, a sophomore in the Department of Science Communication at National Pingtung University. With its diverse life attitudes and inclusive visual composition, it presents the curatorial spirit of overcoming barriers and understanding differences, and was officially unveiled at the opening event.

This film festival also leverages the promotional resources of Shennaomen City across the country to allow young creators and documentary works to step out of the campus and reach a wider audience from different generations.

A selection of 12 documentaries showcasing the resilience of life and the harmony of diversity.

This film festival was independently selected by a team of young volunteers based on the theme of "Overcoming Barriers". They chose 12 true stories from the documentary works accumulated by the Shennao Technology and Education Foundation over the years, presenting challenges, understanding and breakthroughs in different life situations.

The film slate covers a wide range of topics, including "Ati's Diary," which documents the differences between languages and cultures; "Jia Ling" and "Seeing Sound," which present the life experiences and strength of the hearing impaired; "Fragments of You and Me," "Circles in Life," "KOMALAT," and "Touching Strangers," which explore emotions, relationships, and self-identity; and "Strength Hidden in Dancing Shoes," "A Wonderful Life in a Wheelchair," "Forever Five," "Caregiver Dad," and "Rou Rou," which depict the life stories of people with disabilities and their families and caregivers.

These works present the resilience of life from different perspectives, and remind us that so-called "barriers" not only exist in physical conditions, but may also stem from cultural differences, social prejudices, and interpersonal barriers. Through these images, viewers can understand different life experiences and rethink the relationships between people.

From online film festivals to educational settings, extending the social impact of film.

In addition to online screenings, this film festival also plans a series of cross-disciplinary exchange activities. On October 17, documentary director Lu Denggui will lead an "AI Creation Workshop" to guide young people to use AI tools to generate ideas and extend their creations based on documentary content. On November 30, a physical performance themed "Science and Industry" will be held at the National Pingtung University Auditorium. From December 3 to 4, in response to the "International Day of Persons with Disabilities," an exchange forum will be held, inviting educators, youth volunteers, and related partners to discuss the future possibilities of film education and social participation.

During the film festival, it will also be promoted to schools and communities across the country, inviting college students, elementary and junior high school teachers and community service workers to participate. It encourages bringing documentaries into classrooms, communities and service venues, and through film viewing discussions, exploration of life issues and creative expression, it makes film a starting point for interdisciplinary learning and social integration.

Enabling continuous creation of visual resources to deepen new possibilities for cross-disciplinary aesthetic education

The Shennao Technology and Education Foundation has long encouraged the public to document Taiwan's culture and land through the "Homeland Survey Video Documentary Award," accumulating a wealth of documentary resources. This cross-disciplinary collaboration with National Pingtung University, a partner school in this project, is a model practice of transforming existing video archives into innovative educational resources.

It is worth mentioning that "Overcoming Barriers" is not the only theme of the original call for submissions. Instead, through the independent selection of films by young students and interdisciplinary discussions, social issues are re-examined from works from different backgrounds, giving existing images a new interdisciplinary interpretation and teaching application value.

This collaboration, based on the spirit of "joint curation" with equal participation from universities and corporate non-profit organizations, not only expands the application of documentaries in higher education and aesthetic settings, but also accumulates valuable experience for deepening interdisciplinary aesthetic education and connections between colleges and universities. It is hoped that in the future, this collaboration will continue to connect college students, on-site teachers, and the local community, so that documentaries are not just for viewing, but also become a starting point for aesthetic learning, interdisciplinary creation, and practical action, demonstrating the power of cross-border communication between aesthetics and images.