Golden Horse project market sees 67% growth; Yi’s animation project takes top prize

Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film & TV Film Project Promotion (FTPP) closed on an optimistic note of growing diversity, and quality. The three-day event (Nov 22 -24) saw 523 matchmaking meetings carried out between 25 film projects and 73 investors, representing 67% growth compared with the previous year.

The participation of film financers also saw a boost of 50%, including 12 venture capital companies such as Chinatrust Venture Capital, Franklin Cultural Creative Capital, and Singapore’s IFS Capital Limited.

Several projects were greeted with such enthusiasm from the investors that extra sessions were added. 

The NT$1m Grand Prize went to Yi Chin-Yen’s (Blue Gate Crossing) first attempt at feature-length animated film, City of the Lost Things. The post-production awards include work from Thai post-production house The Post Bangkok and Korean post-production agency Moneff. The amount of the post-production awards totals NT$3.4 million ($120,000).

The FTPP jury such as Hong Kong filmmaker Fruit Chan and mainland Chinese director Wang Xiaoshuai expressed their delight at the increasing diversity seen in the subject, genre, and creativity of the film projects this year. The five animation projects, they said, particularly show promising development for Chinese-language animation in the future with the sheer quality and quantity they display.

City of the Lost Things is to be produced by Lee Lieh [pictured], the producer of 2010 hit gangland drama Monga and recent hit Jump Ashin! This animated film depicts how a young boy out of sync with the society finds his way in life through his friendship with a personified plastic bag.

Tom Lin, a finalist in 2010 with his Starry Starry Night, won the LAPCC and Kodak awards with his Lolita-themed project Touched. The Taipei Motion Picture Corporation Award went to the nostalgic Sinema Paradiso by Singaporean director Tan Ai-Leng and the romantic zombie musical Betelnut Girl Vs. Zombie by Patio Lien.  The thriller Kill the Foot Masseuse by Bruce Hwang Chen clinched the Moneff Award. The project also shared with Wu Mi-Sen’s aboriginal musical 3KW2Y for the Modern Cinema Laboratory.

Beat It from Hong Kong, which combines tai chi and hip hop, took home the Post Bangkok Award. Crosscurrent, by mainland Chinese filmmaker Yang Chao with Mark Lee Ping-Bin serving as cinematographer, won the million-dollar Central Pictures Corporation Award.

The 3H Sound Studio Award went to Wen Chih-Yi’s project Behind Love and Hatred, which touches upon the ambiguous transformation and subtle emotions of high school girls. Veteran cinematographer Chien Hsiang’s second feature film project I Still Own My Life won the Pixelfly Digital Award with its in-depth probing into how middle-aged women cope with midlife crisis. Behind Love and Hatred and I Still Own My Life also share the Arrow Award.