Chinese film about COVID-19 wins Taiwan's top Golden Horse prizes

A Chinese film set during the COVID-19 pandemic won the top prizes in Taiwan's prestigious Golden Horse Awards. Despite political tensions, the event saw the highest number of entries from China in recent years.

Beijing banned its entertainers from attending Golden Horse—dubbed the Chinese-language "Oscars"—in 2019 after a Taiwanese director voiced support for the island's independence in an acceptance speech in 2018.

China claims Taiwan as part of its territory, which the Taipei government rejects. Chinese A-listers and big commercial productions have avoided the event mainly ever since.

Despite the sensitivity of the awards, more than 200 Chinese films entered this year's competition, which Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said was the highest number in "recent years."

Acclaimed Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye was awarded best director late Saturday night for his docu-drama "An Unfinished Film," also named best picture.

Shih Ming-shuai and Yang Kuei-mei pose with the Best Supporting Actor awards at the 61st Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Taiwan November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Lou was absent from the ceremony, but his wife, Ma Yingli, read his acceptance speech. In it, Lou described the film set during China's lockdown of Wuhan in the earliest stages of the pandemic as "the most special directing job I have ever done."

Chinese actor Zhang Zhiyong, who also did not attend the awards, won the Best Actor award for his performance in Chinese director Geng Jun's same-sex drama "Bel Ami."

Hong Kong's Chung Suet-ying was named best actress for her role in "The Way We Talk," a film about the deaf community.

Neither "Bel Ami" nor "An Unfinished Film" has been released in China.

Ahead of the awards, MAC spokesman Liang Wen-chieh told reporters that these films "may not be able to be screened in mainland China, but they still hope to have a free platform to participate and express themselves."

"We welcome (them) very much," he said.

Abe Hiroshi attends the 61st Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Taiwan November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang

'Work of conscience'

After several years of absence, Chinese stars began trickling back to the awards in Taipei last year, with actress Hu Ling the first to grace the red carpet since the ban.

On Saturday, Geng Jun and some of his cast were among the few Chinese entertainers to join stars and filmmakers from around the region, including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan, on the red carpet.

While Geng missed out on best director and picture, his film "Bel Ami" won the best cinematography and editing awards.

Despite political tensions, Golden Horse remained a stage for independent Chinese films, which had no distribution space on the mainland, Taiwanese film critic Wonder Weng told AFP.

The crew of "Bel Ami" poses at the 61st Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, Taiwan November 23, 2024. REUTERS/Ann Wang

"This spirit remains unchanged. I think the Golden Horse Awards have always insisted on being the benchmark" open to all subjects, " said Weng, a board member of the Taiwan Film Critics Society.

Weng said "An Unfinished Film" by Lou, who has previously taken on forbidden subjects such as gay sex and the 1989 Tiananmen protests, was "a work of conscience."

Lou's latest offering is about a film crew trying to resume shooting a movie in Wuhan during the COVID-19 pandemic, which placed the city in an unprecedented lockdown.

"Lou put images that are banned or blocked into his work and reminds us that there is a director who is willing to preserve historical images for us to see... and let us know there is a different voice," Weng said.