‘Dead Talents Society’ Leads Golden Horse Film Awards Nominations

Comedy-horror “Dead Talents Society” picked up 11 nominations for the Golden Horse Film Awards, making it the most acclaimed title among the 169 films in contention for the prestigious Chinese-language prizes.

“Yen and Ai-Lee” and “Bel Ami” both received eight nominations, putting them in a tie for second place. Recent Venice competition film “Stranger Eyes,” from Singapore’s Yeo Siew Hua received six.

Five films compete for the best narrative features award: John Hsu’s “Dead Talents Society,” Ray Yeung’s “All Shall Be Well,” Lou Ye’s “An Unfinished Film,” Geng Jun’s “Bel Ami” and “Stranger Eyes.” The same five also contest the best director award.

Nominees for best leading actor are: King Jieh-wen (“A Journey in Spring”), Chang Chen (“The Embers”), Yau Hawk-sau (“The Way We Talk”), Wanlop Rungkumjad (“Mongrel”) and Zhang Zhiyong (“Bel Ami”). Chang is a previous winner in the category.

Nominees for best actress are: Patra Au Ga-man (“All Shall Be Well”), Kimi Hsia (“Yen and Ai-Lee”), Chung Suet-ying (“The Way We Talk”), Sylvia Chang (“Daughter’s Daughter”) and Sandra Ng (“Love Lies”). Chang and Ng are both previous winners, while Chung picks up her second nomination in two years.

This year, the honor of ‘Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year’ goes to veteran spray-paint artist, LI Si-jian, who has been involved with set decoration for more than 50 years.

The Golden Horse Awards have long been considered the most prestigious awards for films made in all the different variants of the Chinese language. But political differences between Taiwan (the Republic of China) and mainland China (the People’s Republic of China) mean that very few films that originate in mainland China have taken part in recent years. Two films by mainland-born directors claim different nationalities: Wang Xiaoshuai’s “Above the Dust” is at least partly a Hong Kong production, while “An Unfinished Film” is badged as a Singapore-Germany-U.S. coproduction.

All the nominated films will be screened at Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Nov. 7-23. The Golden Horse Awards Audience Choice Award will take place on Nov. 9-10 simultaneously at Hualien Railway Cinema, Vie Show Cinemas Hsinchu FE21 and Vie Show Cinemas Tainan FE21. The main Golden Horse Awards Ceremony will be held on Nov. 23rd at Taipei Music Center.