Comedy-horror “Dead Talents Society” received 11 nominations at the Golden Horse Film Awards, making it the most acclaimed title among 169 films competing for the prestigious Chinese-language awards.
“Yen and Ai-Lee” and “Bel Ami” each received eight nominations, tying them to second place. The recent Venice competition film “Stranger Eyes” from Singapore’s Yeo Siew Hua got six.
Five films are competing for the best narrative award: John Hsu’s “Dead Talents Society”, Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well”, Lou Ye’s “An Unfinished Film”, Geng Jun’s “Bel Ami” and “Stranger Eyes”. The same five are also competing for the best director award.
Best Actor nominees are King Jieh-wen (“A Journey in Spring”), Chang Chen (“The Embers”), Yau Hawk-sau (“The Way We Talk”), Wanlop Rungkumjad (“Mongrel”) and Zhang Zhiyong ( “Bel Ami”). Chang is the previous winner in the category.
The nominees for Best Actress are: Patra Au Ga-man (“All Shall Be Well”), Kimi Hsia (“Yen and Ai-Lee”), Chung Suet-ying (“The Way We Talk”), Sylvia Chang (“Daughter’s” Daughter) and Sandra Ng (“Love Lies”). Chang and Ng are both past winners, while Chung will receive his second nomination in two years.
This year, the honor of “Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year” goes to experienced spray paint artist LI Si-jian, who has been involved in decorating for over 50 years.
The Golden Horse Awards have long been considered the most prestigious awards for films made in all variants of the Chinese language. But political differences between Taiwan (Republic of China) and mainland China (People’s Republic of China) mean that very few films from mainland China have entered in recent years. Two films by mainland-born directors claim different nationalities: Wang Xiaoshuai’s “Above the Dust” is at least partly a Hong Kong production, while “Unfinished Film” is a Singapore-Germany-USA co-production.
All nominated films will be screened at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival from the 7th to the 23rd. November. The Golden Horse Awards Audience Choice Award will be awarded on 9-10 November simultaneously at Hualien Railway Cinema, Vie Show Cinemas Hsinchu FE21 and Vie Show Cinemas Tainan FE21. The Golden Horse Awards will be held on November 23 at the Taipei Music Center.