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TAIPEI -- "Small & Deep, Love Stories" wooed audiences and jury members on the closing day of the fourth Taiwan Intl. Animation Festival. Director Hsin-ping Pan's whimsical short took top honors in the fest's inaugural competition for local animated production, bagging roughly $10,000 in prize money and a Stooby trophy, named for fest's dog mascot.

Three-member jury, which included California-based artist Gary Baseman, handed out six other artistic merit and technical awards to the 34 shorts in competition and some $20,000 in prize money.

Fest opened with French kidtoon "Kirikou and the Wild Beasts" and closed with Richard Linklater's adult-oriented "A Scanner Darkly," screening 332 flicks from 32 countries in between.

Event is most important as a showcase of local animated pics from up-and-coming talents utilizing a variety of animation techniques. A majority of the winners in the local competish were student filmmakers or recent graduates, and many were no-shows at the awards ceremony because they were either studying or working Stateside.