‘Summer is Gone’ wins best feature film

Chinese films shine at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awa ards

THE Summer is Gone was named the best feature film of the Golden Horse Awards while the best director award went to Feng Xiaogang.

This year’s Golden Horse Awards, one of the most prestigious film awards in the Chinese-speaking world, saw 47 films competing on Saturday for titles in 22 categories.

A total of 534 films were submitted for competition, the most ever to enter the competition, and up from 427 last year. China’s Fan Wei won the best leading actor award for his role in Mr. No Problem, a satire on the Chinese society. Chinese director Feng Xiaogang’s won the best director award for his film I Am Not Madame Bovary, a film about a woman who conspires with her husband to get a fake divorce in order to secure a second apartment, only to have him betray her and remarry someone else.

China’s Zhou Dongyuor and Ma Sichun shared the best leading actress award for their role in Soul Mate directed by Hong Kong’s Derek Tsang.

Soul Mate is a romantic drama about two best friends whose friendship is tested and whose lives take different turns after they fall in love with the same man.

The award for best supporting actor went to Lin Po-hung in At Cafe 6, while Elaine Jin in Mad World received the award for best supporting actress. While, ten-year-old Kong Weiyi in The Summer is Gone won the best new performer award.

Meanwhile, the best original screenplay award went to Loong Man n Hong, Thomas Ng and Mak Tin-shu fo or their work for Trivisa.

Leading to the ceremony, loc cal Taiwanese film Godspeed had n nominas tions for eight awards and was strongly favoured to win in several cate egories. However, it only picked up onl ly one, for art direction.

Other disappointments for Taiwanese cinema included thee failure of The Road To Mandalay to tur rn any of its six nominations into awards s wins, and the failure of its foreign-lan nguage Oscar contender Hang In There e Kids to collect any awards on home so il.

The awards also paid tributee to Abbas Kiarostami, the iconic Ir ranian director who died earlier this y year. — The China Post/Asia News Netw work

— Reuters Big win: Director Zhang Dalei (right) posing with his father and Kong (centre) after winning the best feature film award for his movie ‘ The Summer is Gone’. (Below) Feng kissing his award for best director.

— Reuters Unexpected: Actors Ma (left) and Zhou posing backstage after they both won the best leading actress award for their movie ‘Soul Mate’ at the 53rd Golden Horse Film Awards in Taipei.