•Publication Date：11/25/2013
•Source： Taiwan Today
The 50th Golden Horse Awards concluded Nov. 23 in Taipei City, bringing together movie industry luminaries from home and abroad for the most important Chinese-language filmmaking event of the year.
Taiwan performed well at the ceremony, collecting several headline awards. Lee Kang-sheng won best actor for his performance as an unemployed single father struggling to make ends meet in “Stray Dogs,” and Chi Po-lin’s aerial photography film “Beyond Beauty—Taiwan from Above” took best documentary.
Best actress went to mainland China’s Zhang Ziyi for her role as a vengeful kung fu master in action epic “The Grandmaster,” while Malaysia-born Tsai Ming-liang won best director for “Stray Dogs.”
Singapore-made “Ilo Ilo” by Anthony Chen was the surprise performer at the event, bagging awards for best picture, original screenplay, supporting actress and new director. The film about a Filipino nanny is the first movie from the city-state to receive a Golden Horse best picture award.
Hong Kong’s William Cheung won awards for best art direction and makeup and costume design, bringing his career Golden Horse haul to a record 11.
Other highlights of the event include a standing ovation from the audience at Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall for the more than 40 winning actors and actresses who gathered together onstage.
As part of ROC government efforts to support Taiwan’s film industry, the Ministry of Culture plans to increase state subsidies for the annual awards from NT$20 million (US$675,676) to NT$30 million in 2014.
The MOC is also producing a documentary detailing the history of the awards since its inception in 1962. The short will be aired during next year’s ceremony as a tribute to all filmmakers dedicated to promoting Chinese-language movies.
Considered the Chinese-language Oscars, the Golden Horse Awards are among the most coveted honors for movie industry participants throughout the region.
