Asian Festival Circuit

The most prestigious film award of Chinese-language film industry, Golden Horse Film Festival (TGHFF), will host the 46th Golden Horse Awards Ceremony in Taipei County on November 28, 2009.

Starting from November, there will be several events, including "Golden Horse Film Festival", "Golden Horse Film Academy", "Film & TV Film Project Promotion", and "The 46th Golden Horse Awards Ceremony". Golden Horse Film Academy is held for the first time and the main object is to bring young Taiwanese and Chinese filmmakers together, to communicate with world-class masters, and thus promote the development of Chinese-language films. Film & TV Film Project Promotion focuses mainly on Chinese-language films and TV films. This year the first prize winner will be awarded one-million NTD, which is the highest film venture capital in Asia.

There are in total twenty-three awards selected by the Golden Horse Awards Jury, including two special awards.

Prestigious director HOU Hsiao-Hsien will take the position as Dean of the Academy, along with other great filmmakers, including Ang LEE, Mark Pin-Bing LEE, TU Duu-Chih, Hirokazu KORE-EDA,etc., who will act as tutors. They will lead the lectures and share their precious experience with young filmmakers from all over the world.

Taiwan filmmaker Cheng Wen-Tang's crime drama "Tears" and mainland director Tian Zhuangzhuag's fantasy movie "The warrior and the Wolf" will open this year Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.

TGHFF plans a series of peripheral activities along with the main festival to attract attention from the audience and media, creating a lively festive ambiance. In 2000, the TGHFF opened with a concert of classic film songs performed by WU Bai and Renee LIU, as well as an energetic RAVE PARTY hosted by LIM Giong, Fluid Workshop and famous DJs from Taiwan and abroad. In 2001, the TGHFF began hosting several forums and lectures, inviting renowned filmmakers, critics, and writers to guide the audience through the festival. The audience has therefore been able to get insight into the festival through the eyes of HOU Hsiao-Hsien, Hung Hung, WANG Wen-Hua, Lucille HAN, Vista CHENG, CHIANG Hsun, Kevin TSAI, and WEN Tien-Hsiang. In recent years, the audience has even had the opportunity to interact directly with the leading international directors, such as Cristian MUNGIU, Yasmin AHMAD, and Shunji IWAI, through the Director Lectures. This year again the TGHFF is eager to fulfill its mission and enrich the festival. In addition to the roster of exciting films awaiting discovery, there will also be a wide array of film-related activities that will catch not only your eyes but your heart as well.

Taiwan actress Shu Qi poses for the ad campaign of the 2009 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.