The highly anticipated film, Snow In Midsummer, directed by Malaysia’s Chong Keat-aun, has emerged as the frontrunner for this year’s Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan. The film has received an impressive nine nominations, including best narrative feature, best director, and best supporting actress for Wan Fang. Snow In Midsummer is a collaborative effort between Malaysia, Taiwan, and Singapore, and it has also earned recognition for categories such as best adapted screenplay, best cinematography, best makeup and costume design, best original film score, best original film song, and best sound effects.
Two other Taiwanese films, Marry My Dead Body and Eye Of The Storm, are also strong contenders at the Golden Horse Awards with eight nominations each. Marry My Dead Body, which is Taiwan’s submission for Best International Feature at the upcoming Oscars, has been recognized for categories such as best narrative feature, best director, two best leading actor nominations for Hsu Kuang-han and Austin Lin, best adapted screenplay, best action choreography, best original film song, and best editing. Eye Of The Storm has secured nominations for best narrative feature, best leading actor (Wang Po-chieh), best cinematography, best visual effects, best art direction, best original film score, best film editing, and best sound effects.
Not far behind, three films have received seven nominations each. Wong Ching-po’s The Pig, The Snake And The Pigeon and Hsiao Ya-chuan’s Old Fox are both nominated for best director, showcasing the exceptional talent in Taiwanese cinema. Additionally, Trouble Girl from Taiwan and Abang Adik from Malaysia have also received seven nominations, adding to the diversity and richness of the nominated films.
The Golden Horse Awards have long upheld their reputation as the most prestigious awards ceremony for Chinese-language cinema in Taiwan. However, mainland China has boycotted the event since 2018 when a documentary award recipient made a statement about Taiwan’s independence during her acceptance speech. Despite the controversy, the Golden Horse Awards continue to recognize outstanding achievements in filmmaking and provide filmmakers with a platform to celebrate their work.
This year’s Golden Horse Awards are scheduled to take place on November 25 at the iconic Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei City. The event promises to be a grand celebration of the talent and creativity within the Chinese-language film industry. Renowned filmmaker Ang Lee has been named as the president of the Golden Horse Awards jury, further adding to the prestige and excitement surrounding the event.
The Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan have unveiled an impressive lineup of films for this year’s competition. Snow In Midsummer leads the pack with nine nominations, followed closely by Marry My Dead Body and Eye Of The Storm with eight nominations each. The awards ceremony will bring together industry professionals and cinema enthusiasts to honor and celebrate the achievements of the Chinese-language film community. Despite the controversies surrounding the event, the Golden Horse Awards continue to be a platform for recognizing and promoting exceptional filmmaking talent.