Golden Horse Goes To Cannes: five Taiwanese films to tempt international buyers

Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival is on the Croisette showcasing five Taiwanese feature films curated for the inaugural Golden Horse Goes To Cannes programme. The selection comprises work-in-progress productions and includes many cast and crew who are previous winners and nominees of the festival’s Golden Horse Awards.

Extracts from the five films will be shown at a market screening on Thursday (May 16) at 2:30pm, Palais K. Cast including Wu Kang-ren, Chen Bo-lin, Kai Ko, Will Or and Sylvia Chang will attend alongside the five filmmakers.

The Chronicles Of Libidoists

Dir. Yang Ya-che
Prods. Jeffrey Chan, Liu Wei-jan
Cast: Wu Kang-ren, Liu Chu-ping, Alisia Liang, Will Or

Starring recent Golden Horse best actor Wu Kang-ren, director Yang’s The Chronicles Of Libidoists is a contemporary version of The Little Mermaid, spiced up for an adult audience. The classic fairytale is turned into a fable of lust and loss, with the character of the mermaid princess — who falls in love with the human prince she saves from drowning — reimagined as a young man.

“The subject matter, as well as the way the story is told, is so bold that we needed to discuss and revisit every scene, every shot and every word in the dialogue dozens of times,” says executive producer Jeffrey Chan. “It’s a romantic relationship story so contemporary, so universal and yet so uniquely Taiwan that it should be told with the highest plausible level of cinematic honesty.”

The film is the first project from 16cc, a new venture between Chan’s 66cc and Liu Wei-jan’s Atom Cinema. Chan distributed Yang’s Golden Horse best film winner The Bold, The Corrupt And The Beautiful in 2017 through A Really Happy Film.

Daughter’s Daughter

Dir. Huang Xi
Prods. Hou Hsiao-hsien, Sylvia Chang
Cast: Sylvia Chang, Karena Lam

After their collaboration on HBO series Twisted Strings, director Huang reunites with Golden Horse-winning Hou Hsiao-hsien and Sylvia Chang in a film that has already received an Excellent Screenplay Award from the Ministry of Culture. Chang plays a widow in her sixties who travels to New York following the death of her daughter and partner in an accident. Once there, the woman is shocked to discover she must decide the fate of her daughter’s IVF embryo, as well as face the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was 16.

“Both positions are service providers,” says Chang, referring to her dual role as producer and lead actress. “I do my best to become the character as the director wanted, and give my most honest suggestions as a producer. We worked quite smoothly because of the trust between us.”

Director Huang’s 2017 feature debut Missing Johnny won awards at the Taipei Film Awards and Golden Horse Awards. She has worked closely with auteur Hou since 1996’s Goodbye South, Goodbye.

Dead Talents Society

Dir. John Hsu
Prods. Lee Lieh, Aileen Li, Ivy Chen
Cast: Chen Bo-lin, Sandrine Pinna, Gingle Wang

This satirical supernatural comedy follows two ghosts — a veteran and an upstart — who team up to increase their scare factor. It marks the first Taiwanese film backed and distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures International in more than two decades, following 2000’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and 2002’s Double Vision.

When developing the script three years ago, director Hsu shot a six-minute teaser that generated strong buzz. But the script remained the biggest challenge. “It’s a brand new original story set in a fantasy realm,” says producer Ivy Chen of Activator. “We’ve spent over a year on just getting the realm right and on allowing the audience to easily take up its world view.”

Director Hsu had his big break with 2019’s Detention, a horror film adapted from a popular video game that grossed more than $8m at the Taiwanese box office and won five Golden Horse Awards including best new director and best adapted screenplay. Dead Talents Society is scheduled for release in Taiwan on August 7.

A Foggy Tale

Dir. Chen Yu-hsun
Prods. Yeh Jufeng, Lee Lieh
Cast: Caitlin Fang, Will Or, 9m88

Veteran director Chen, known for Berlinale title Zone Pro Site: The Moveable Feast and Golden Horse winner My Missing Valentine, turns to Taiwan’s ‘White Terror’ period of political repression for his latest film. The story follows a young girl and a stranger who become friends and embark on a journey to reclaim the remains of her brother — one that may cost them their lives.

To recreate old Taiwan, the production team built vibrant street sets at Tainan Annei Film Studio, complete with illegal structures typical of the 1950s and alleyways where people congregate to make a living. Houses and prisons left behind from the Japanese colonial era in Chiayi City were also used as locations. Filming lasted for about 50 days.

“Creating a film with a historical background requires a higher production budget,” says producer Yeh Jufeng of Mandarin Vision. “We feel honoured as filmmakers to be able to provide a reflection of that period. This is a story filled with love.”

Bespoke onsite make-up and full-face AI processing was used to enable lead actor Will Or to portray a character that ages 50 years during the film’s narrative.

Kung Fu

Dir. Giddens Ko
Prods. Lu Wei-chun, Giddens Ko
Cast: Leon Dai, Kai Ko, Berant Zhu

Giddens Ko is both a popular writer, with 82 published novels, and a successful filmmaker, with hit films You Are The Apple Of My Eye and Till We Meet Again. His latest feature has been 10 years in the making and is once again adapted from one of his own books.

It is a modern fantastical adventure of two high-school losers who — along with an old man with unparalleled martial-arts skills — strive to restore justice to their city and unravel the mystery of the old man’s identity. Serving as action choreographer is Triple A’s Chang Jae-wook, who led a five-member stunt team from South Korea, working closely with the Taiwanese team.

“It’s a deep technical exchange between Taiwan and Korea and a very successful international collaboration,” says producer Lu Wei-chun of Machi Xcelsior Studios. With an $8m budget, Kung Fu is the biggest production for the Taipei-based company, which previously produced Till We Meet Again.

“The pandemic has had a huge impact on film production and cinema operations,” she adds. “Consumers are willing to pay for a cinema ticket only when the content is special and worth it.”

Contact: Ivy YH Chiang, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee press coordinator