Being an important annual event for global public broadcasters, this year’s INPUT was successfully concluded in Barcelona, Spain on May 13th. PTS Taiwan not only participated in the conference with the screening of the PTS produced movie The Silent Forest, but also announced the big news it would be hosting next year’s INPUT.
INPUT has been established for more than 40 years, with the mission to promote the social contribution of public television broadcasters. Every year, INPUT holds an annual conference in one of its member countries, selecting and screening the most innovative and discussion-worthy TV programs from the works submitted by its members. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 and 2021 conferences were postponed and only resumed this year, with delegates from 35 countries gathering from May 9th to 13th.
PTS’ striking new film The Silent Forest, which explores the issue of sexual abuse in schools for the hearing-impaired, was selected to be screened at this year’s INPUT. The participants from various worldwide public broadcasters all expressed their admiration and appreciation of the film and the hard topics and issues it displayed. Many considered the film a demonstration of the courage and responsibility public media holds, and felt there was a need for similar stories to be told in their home countries as well. Much praise was also given to the main actors who seamlessly portrayed hearing impaired students. The moderator of the session, Associate Professor Mercè Oliva from the School of Communication of Pompeu Fabra University, also pointed out that the sound design of The Silent Forest was outstanding, succeeding in submersing people into the world of the hearing impaired.
On the last day of the conference, PTS was once again the center of attention. During the closing session, it was announced that INPUT 2023 would be held in Taipei. This is the second time after 2006 that PTS has received the opportunity to host INPUT. In addition to inviting the delegates to Taipei next year, Cindy Shyu, Acting President of PTS, also gave a brief introduction to PTS WORLD TAIWAN, the international YouTube channel of PTS, providing delegates a way to get a better look at Taiwan and PTS before next year’s conference. In addition, on request of PTS, a local Taiwanese boba tea shop provided 150 cups of boba milk tea to closing session attendees, giving INPUT members a quite literal taste of what is to come next at Taipei INPUT 2023.