Urban Nomad will not hold any film events in 2020

COVID-19 made it impossible to hold a film festival in 2020, but the larger reason there is no 2020 Urban Nomad Film Fest is that Urban Nomad is one of the most underfunded film festivals in Taiwan. Due to budget concerns and the risk of a huge financial loss that would permanently kill the festival, we decided not to hold an event in 2020. We hope to be back in 2021, but need to find a more sustainable financial model in order for that to happen.

Urban Nomad is back with the Fall Freakout! Oct 3 at Tiger Mt!

We were honestly gutted in the spring, when it became impossible to do a full international music festival this year. But once Taiwan turned out to be the best in the world at handling the pandemic, local bands told us they wanted to play. So despite the setbacks of earlier this year, we’ve rallied to produce the URBAN NOMAD FALL FREAKOUT.

This one-day fest will pack everything into a massive party, with 25+ bands and DJs, as well as artists and performers going from 2pm to 5am at Taipei’s chillest and wildest outdoor music venue, Tiger Mountain. We will have 3 music stages, as well as roving artists, fire dancers, a hair salon, gourmet food, vegan options, craft beer, all sorts of vendors, and to top it all off, this happens in a beautiful mountain valley very close to the center of Taipei city.

Keep reading to find out about the big MAIN STAGE… ALL-NITE JUNGLE TECHNO… TEMPLE OF HIP HOP… and INDIE LIVE lineups.

Urban Nomad’s Music Fest Postponed

This is not a happy thing to announce, but due to coronavirus, the 2020 Urban Nomad Freakout Festival will be delayed until later this year. We hope to bring the full festival back in the autumn, and will announce new dates when this becomes possible. Most of the 15 international performers and dozens of Taiwanese performers originally planned for 2020 Urban Nomad have already agreed to join the festival once we can reschedule. So you can expect the same amazing, highly international lineup. Ticket refunds are available. And not everything is cancelled! In April, Urban Nomad will continue to hold two live music events at Revolver and Triangle on April 9 and 10.

2020 Urban Nomad Freakout Festival coming in April!

Urban Nomad’s annual festival of strange and #freakadelic things will take place April 10-12 in Taipei, with more than 40 musical acts and circus performers on four stages. Its most international lineup ever will focus on Asia’s Indie Explosion, with more than 15 overseas performers traveling from Japan, Korea, Indonesia, US, Canada, and Basque Countries, with many more to be announced. The festival also adds one extra day to become a three-day festival for the first time. Early bird tickets go on sale Feb 19 on www.KKtix.com.

2020 Urban Nomad Call for Films

Submissions are now open for the 19th annual Urban Nomad Film Fest, to be held in Taipei in April-May 2020, then later in the year touring programs will take films to other Taiwanese cities. Urban Nomad will hold competitions in two main categories, “Taiwan films” and “Taiwan indie music videos”, with awards including cash prizes and post-production services from a top Taiwan post-production house, Far East Translation Services. There is also a non-competition section for entries from outside Taiwan. Find out how to submit works here.

2019 Urban Nomad Awards: Grand Prize goes to ‘A Bread Factory’; ‘Love Boat: Taiwan’ wins audience choice!

The 18th annual Urban Nomad Awards were handed out on May 26, with the Grand Prize handed out to Taiwanese-American director Patrick Wang for his two-part feature film A Bread Factory Parts One and Two, which stars Taiwanese actor and TV host Janet Hsieh. The Audience Choice Award meanwhile went to the festival’s closing film, Love Boat: Taiwan, a documentary by Valerie Soe on soft power and shenanigans at Taiwan’s most famous study exchange program. In 2019, Urban Nomad received around 400 submissions in multiple categories and handed out seven awards worth TWD 80,000 in cash and post-production services. The ceremony took place at the Wonderful Theater in Ximen on the festival’s second-to-last day and put an exclamation on seven weeks of events from April 13 to May 27, which included around 50 screenings, 37 films making Taiwan or Asia premieres, visits by 10 international filmmakers, a 2000-person music festival…