Taiwan filmmakers win international honors

2016/09/13

Taiwan directors Ang Lee and Midi Zhao were recently honored by London-headquartered International Broadcasting Convention and Federation of Film Critics of Europe and the Mediterranean, respectively, for their artistic talents and filmmaking skills.

Oscar-winning Ang Lee was awarded the 2016 International Honor for Excellence by IBC—organizer of the world’s leading annual broadcasting industry exhibition—at a ceremony Sept. 11 in Amsterdam. For over two decades, he has led the way in utilizing cutting-edge science in the creation of some of the very finest works of cinematic art like “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Life of Pi,” IBC said on its website.

Lee’s next work “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” uses a revolutionary cinematographic technique that establishes a new level of emotional connection with the on-screen characters while preserving artistic integrity over cinema and electronic entertainment market delivery formats, IBC added.

Accepting the award in person, Lee said he was “happy and honored” to be recognized by IBC and will continue working hard to bring technologically advanced movies to the silver screen. Previous winners of IBC’s top honor include Canadian James Cameron, director of “Titanic” and “Avatar,” and New Zealand’s Peter Jackson, director of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies.

According to Lee, his new film is shot at the highest rate of 120 frames per second in 3-D and with 4K resolution. It offers viewers a more sophisticated and detailed take on its straightforward dramatic theme, and will premiere Oct. 14 at the New York Film Festival, he said.

Zhao’s “The Road to Mandalay” was selected Sept. 10 by the three-member FEDEORA jury as best film at the 13th edition of Venice Days, an independent section run alongside the Venice International Film Festival in northeastern Italy.

The director, who was on hand to receive the award, later posted a message on his Facebook page thanking the jury for its recognition. “Such encouragement has given me self-confidence, inspiring me to continue down the road of filmmaking.”

Partly subsidized by the Ministry of Culture, the movie made its world premiere at Venice Days and was enthusiastically received by an audience of more than 600. It was one of 12 titles in competition from countries such as Australia, Colombia, France, Italy and the Philippines.

The film chronicles the lives of a young man and woman as they travel illegally from Myanmar to Thailand. A relationship soon develops between the pair, but their expectations for the future diverge: The man wants to return to his native Myanmar, while the woman wishes to move to Taiwan.

This is the fourth feature film by Zhao, who relocated to Taiwan from Myanmar in 1998 at age 16 and is now a Republic of China (Taiwan) national. His last movie “Ice Poison” represented Taiwan in the Best Foreign Language Film category at 2015 Academy Awards.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=247909&ctNode=2194&mp=9)