The 56th Golden Horse Awards ceremony was held at National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Nov. 23 in Taipei City, bringing together film industry luminaries for the Oscars of Chinese-language cinema.
Organized by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee, the awards attracted 685 submissions from home and abroad. Prizes were presented by an array of big names including award-winning directors like Taiwan’s Ang Lee and Japan’s Hirokazu Koreeda.
Locally made movies “Detention” and “A Sun” were the two big winners on the night.
Box office hit “Detention,” directed by John Hsu, earned 12 nominations, taking home the honors for best new director, best art direction, best original film score, best adapted screenplay and best visual effects. It became the highest-grossing domestic movie of the year in Taiwan within three days of its release in September.
The 104-minute thriller, adapted from a survival horror video game developed by Taiwan’s Red Candle Games, follows high school student Fang Ray-shin during the country’s White Terror era under martial law.
The other standout, “A Sun” directed by Chung Mong-hong, received 10 nominations and triumphed in six categories, picking up the awards for best feature film, best director, best leading actor, best supporting male actor, best film editing and the audience choice award. The 156-minute feature follows a troubled family with two sons taking very different paths in life. (RAY-E)
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