Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards Unveils Nominations Amid China Tensions

Deadline
Date: October 1, 2019
By: Tom Grater

The nominations for this year’s Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan were unveiled Tuesday, with no Chinese films in contention amid the political fallout from last year’s ceremony.

Now in their 56th year, the awards have traditionally been seen as among the most prestigious for Chinese-language film. But tension bubbled over last year after Taiwanese filmmaker Fu Yue said onstage during an acceptance speech that she hoped Taiwan could be regarded as “independent.”

China classifies Taiwan as a renegade province rather than a separate country, and, according to various reports, authorities declared that China’s actors, directors and producers would not be allowed to submit to year’s Golden Horse Awards.

Instead, this year’s nominees list is largely composed of Taiwanese films, with a handful of features from Hong Kong and elsewhere also up for prizes. Taiwan’s Detention, John Hsu’s thriller, leads the pool with 12 noms including Best Narrative Feature, Best New Director, Best Leading Actress and Best New Performer.    [FULL  STORY]