Lou Ye’s Wuhan-set Covid drama An Unfinished Film took top honours at the 61st Golden Horse Awards, winning both best film and best director, while fellow mainland Chinese director Geng Jun’s LGBTQ+ black comedy Bel Ami won a hat-trick of prizes including best actor.
John Hsu’s Taiwanese supernatural comedy Dead Talents Society snatched the most prizes, walking away with five awards mostly in the technical categories.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The best narrative feature award for An Unfinished Film was presented by Golden Horse Awards chairman, renowned DoP Mark Lee Ping-bing and Hong Kong New Wave director Patrick Tam. As director Lou is currently at Tokyo Filmex undertaking jury duties, his producer wife Ma Yingli accepted the prize along with a representative from France’s Coproduction Office.
Ma said on stage: “It’s not a normal production, but it’s the happiest and the most special for Lou Ye.” She also took the opportunity to announce that the film will be released in Taiwan on December 20. The film premiered at Cannes’ Special Screenings in May.
It is the second consecutive film from mainland China to be named best film, following last year’s winner Stonewalling by Huang Ji.
Mainland Chinese actor Zhang Zhiyong was named best actor for his performance as a middle-aged gay man. He was absent from the awards ceremony, which was held on November 23 at the Taipei Music Center for the first time, due to his filming schedule. Director Geng accepted the prize on his behalf from Oscar-winning best supporting actor Ke Huy Quan.
Geng said on stage that he and Zhang were childhood friends and how an accident has left Zhang partially disabled but that did not stop him from pursuing an acting career.
The film, shot primarily in black and white, also secured best cinematography for Geng’s regular DoP Wang Weihua, and best editing for Chen Ho-ping. It made its world premiere at the Golden Horse Film Festival.
The best actress award went to young Hong Kong actress Chung Suet-Ying for her performance as a hearing-impaired person in Adam Wong’s The Way We Talk, which premiered at BFI London.
Award presenters include international guests such as director Daniel Kwan and producer Jonathan Wang from Everything Everywhere All At Once.
61st Golden Horse Awards winners
Best Narrative Feature
An Unfinished Film
Best Director
Lou Ye, An Unfinished Film
Best New Director
Chiang Wei-Liang, Yin You-Qiao, Mongrel
Best Leading Actor
Zhang Zhiyong, Bel Ami
Best Leading Actress
Chung Suet-Ying, The Way We Talk
Best Supporting Actor
Shih Ming-Shuai, Gatao: Like Father Like Son
Best Supporting Actress
Yang Kuei-Mei, Yen And Ai-Lee
Best New Performer
Feifei Cheng, Big
Best Original Screenplay
Huang Xi, Daughter’s Daughter
Best Adapted Screenplay
Wang Xiaoshuai, Above The Dust
Best Cinematography
Wang Weihua, Bel Ami
Best Visual Effects
Tomi Kuo, Chiu Chun-Yi, Dead Talents Society
Best Art Direction
Wang Chih-Cheng, Liang Shuo-Lin, Dead Talents Society
Best Makeup & Costume Design
Lore Shih, Dead Talents Society
Best Action Choreography
Teddy Ray Huang, Dead Talents Society
Best Film Editing
Chen Hoping, Bel Ami
Best Sound Effects
Chen Yi-Ling, Eddie Huang, Yannick Dauby, From Island To Island
Best Original Film Score
Thomas Foguenne, Stranger Eyes
Best Original Film Song
“Dead Talents Society”, Dead Talents Society
Best Documentary Feature
From Island To Island, Lau Kek-Huat
Best Live Action Short Film
Side A: A Summer Day, Wan Kin-Fai
Best Documentary Short Film
Colour Ideology Sampling.Mov, Chan Cheuk-Sze, Kathy Wong
Best Animated Short Film
Father Figure, Shek Ka-Chun
Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker Of The Year
Li Si-Jian
Lifetime Achievement Award
Cheng Pei-Pei
Lin Wen-Chin
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