Garden blooms with award nominations
The Garden Of Evening Mists was nominated for nine Golden Horse Awards.
THE Garden Of Evening Mists ,a film adaptation of the critically acclaimed novel of the same name by Malaysian author Tan Twan Eng, was honoured with nine nominations at the upcoming 56th Golden Horse Awards.
The film was nominated for Best Narrative Feature, Best Director for Tom Lin Shu-yu, Best Leading Actress for Lee Sinje, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Makeup And Costume Design, Best Original Film Score and Best Film Editing.
The Golden Horse Awards are among the most prestigious film awards in the world of Chinese language cinema. Established in 1962, the awards have given recognition to numerous excellent filmmakers working in Chineselanguage cinema.
The nominations were announced Tuesday, and the awards ceremony of the 56th Golden Horse Awards Ceremony will be held on Nov 2, in Taipei, Taiwan.
Set to premiere in Malaysia in January 2020, The Garden Of Evening Mists is based on Tan’s novel, which was shortlisted for the 2012 Man Booker Prize. The plot revolves around Teoh Yun Ling who, embittered from atrocities of World War II in Malaya, seeks solace in the rolling hills of Cameron Highlands. There, in her quest to build a garden in homage of her late sister, she embarks on a forbidden love affair with the mysterious gardener, Nakamura Aritomo.
The film is presented by Astro Shaw and HBO Asia with support from the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) in association with CJ Entertainment.
It is helmed by award-winning Taiwanese director Lin and boasts a star-studded international cast including Malaysian actress Lee (The Eye), Japanese actor Hiroshi Abe (After the Storm), Taiwanese actress Sylvia Chang (Love Education) as well as British actors – David Oakes (Cold Skin), Julian Sands (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo) – and Scottish actor John Hannah (The Mummy).
The Garden Of Evening Mists will also be screened at the Hong Kong Asian Film Festival as a “Gala Presentation”, with screenings to take place from Nov 14 to 16.
Another Malaysian-produced movie, Nina Wu, also garnered multiple nominations at the Golden Horse Awards – eight in total, including Best Director, Best Original Film Score, Best Original Film Song, Best Cinematography, Best Original Screenplay, Best Makeup And Costume Design, Best Art Direction and Best Sound Effects.
The movie is co-produced by Malaysian company Jazzy Pictures, and has made the rounds in international film festivals in Cannes, Busan, Taipei and the recent Malaysia International Film Festival.
Nina Wu stars Wu Ke-xi as the titular heroine, a struggling actress who is given a breakthrough role, but one that takes a toll on her psychological state. At the same time, she has to deal with two family crises. The film is directed by Midi Z, and also stars Sung Yu Hua and Hsia Yu Chiao.