50th Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival

The competition this year was of very high quality. Among the outstanding films were Wong Kar Wai’s ”The Grandmaster” (Yi dai zong shi), Jia Zhangke’s ”A Touch of Sin” (Tian zhu ding) that won the award for Best Screenplay in Cannes, Tsai Ming Liang’s ”Stray Dogs” (Jiao you) that won the Grand Jury Prize in Venice, and Johnnie To’s ”Drug War” (Du zhan).  Anthony Chen said that the people standing next to him on the stage were “my seniors whom I adored when I studied in film school”. These filmmakers followed the tradition of presenting one’s own story on the screen and that is why their films are well received all over the world.

Because of the growth of the Chinese entertainment industry, many Chinese-language films today are geared towards Hollywood cinema. This phenomenon is particularly strong in Taiwanese films. In such circumstances, it is said that Tsai Ming Liang is planning to give up on film and that ”Stray Dogs” will be his last. However, when handing Tsai Ming Liang the Best Director award, Ang Lee said “I feel like making a film again”.

Taiwanese Ang Lee moved to Hollywood. Malaysian Tsai Ming Liang moved to Taiwan. Both established themselves in a foreign country.  By receiving an encouraging message from Director Lee whom he admires, Tsai Ming Liang may rethink his retirement plan. (Harumi Nakayama)

Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival: www.goldenhorse.org.tw