Chinese entries skyrocket at this year's Taiwan Golden Horse Awards

Taipei, Taiwan — 

Organizers of Taiwan's premier movie festival study a immense summation this twelvemonth successful entries from China, contempt a prohibition imposed by Beijing six years agone connected information successful the festival by Chinese filmmakers and actors.

As galore arsenic 100 Chinese entries had been submitted for Golden Horse Awards successful caller years, successful defiance of the prohibition and without evident consequences. But this twelvemonth organizers accidental the fig of movies and documentaries submitted from China changeable up to 276.

More than a twelve of the Chinese films are imaginable finalists, immoderate successful aggregate categories. The winners volition beryllium announced connected November 23.

Industry analysts and directors accidental galore of the Chinese filmmakers whitethorn person turned to the Golden Horse Awards to gain vulnerability for their movies, fearing they would beryllium banned astatine home. Others constituent to the festival's estimation for hosting a diverseness of films.

According to a database of finalists released connected October 2, Chinese manager Lou Ye's pseudo-documentary, An Unfinished Film, and Geng Jun's black-and-white cheery movie Bel Ami were shortlisted for aggregate awards.

Wonder Weng, enforcement manager of the Taiwan Film Critics Society successful Taipei, said some movies are apt to beryllium banned successful China.

He said that Lou, a regular subordinate successful the Golden Horse Awards, has ne'er bowed to the Chinese strategy and that his An Unfinished Film deviates from Beijing's favored narratives astir the COVID-19 pandemic. Geng's Bel Ami, Weng added, challenges the values of the Chinese Communist Party amid a heavy-handed crackdown connected the LGBTQ community.

Among this year's entrants is Zheng Yu, a 27-year-old autarkic manager from Inner Mongolia who specializes successful expressing thoughts and emotions done images and who has been progressive successful movie and tv accumulation for 8 years.

His entry, Her Dream successful the Living Room is simply a abbreviated movie that records however beingness for his household was changed by an elder's chronic disease. Although helium was not shortlisted successful the end, helium told VOA that helium inactive dreams of lasting connected the signifier of the Golden Horse Awards 1 day.

Zheng said determination are 3 aureate awards successful the Chinese movie industry: the Taiwan Golden Horse, the Hong Kong Golden Statue and the China Golden Rooster Awards.

Among the three, "The Golden Horse Awards are much welcoming to varieties of films, and it is besides much supportive of young directors, truthful this is wherefore I wanted to use for the Golden Horse Awards," helium said.

In summation to the movie entries from China, this year's festival includes 277 entries from Taiwan, 72 from Hong Kong, 17 from Macau, 21 from Malaysia, 17 from Singapore and 67 from different countries.

Ng Kwok Kwan, an subordinate prof astatine the Academy of Film astatine Hong Kong Baptist University, said the Golden Horse Awards are the oldest Chinese movie awards connected either broadside of the Taiwan Strait.

Although entries from China, Hong Kong and Macao person been discouraged by politics, the Golden Horse Awards are inactive seen arsenic large awards successful the Chinese movie industry, and being nominated for a festival grant volition greatly heighten a film's visibility, helium said.

Ng added that the festival has go the champion transmission for Chinese-speaking audiences to entree fantabulous works, and it is besides the perfect outlet for immoderate non-mainstream Hong Kong and Chinese filmmakers.

He said Hong Kong-made films received a full of 18 nominations astatine past year's Golden Horse Awards and yet won 4 awards: Best New Director, Best New Actor, Best Feature Short Film and Best Animated Short Film.

"In caller years, immoderate of the Hong Kong films nominated person been precise good. They beryllium to a comparatively niche and non-mainstream, and [the festival] has a peculiar [interest] successful the themes of non-mainstream, societal issues, and experimental films, and I deliberation it truly has a definite publication [to Hong Kong films]," helium said.

Seventy-two Hong Kong films participated successful this year's Golden Horse Awards. From Now On, which explores the concern of older lesbians, was shortlisted for the Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Actress awards.

Among the 5 shortlisted films for Best Short Film, 3 are Hong Kong films, including Colour Ideology Sampling.mov, Something About Us and Letters from the Imprisoned: Chow Hang Tung.