Chinese director Lu Yi took home the top two awards — best feature film and best director — at the Golden Horse Film Awards on Saturday in Taiwan for his independent film “Unfinished Film.”
The awards given out that night by Lu and others represented a defiant gesture toward mainland Chinese authorities, which operate a restrictive censorship regime over the film industry.
The long-standing Golden Horse Awards have for many years been considered the most important awards event for Chinese-language cinema. But after a speech calling for Taiwanese independence was delivered from the stage by one of the 2018 award winners, China sought to ban its filmmakers from attending the event and instead promoted its own prize race.
There is disagreement between the People’s Republic of China (mainland China) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) over legitimacy in several international institutions. China claims democratically-run Taiwan as its own territory, with which it will unite by force if necessary.
“Unfinished Film,” a work of documentary fiction, depicts a film crew attempting to shoot a film during the COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan, as the city has been placed on an unprecedented lockdown. The topic is very sensitive for the Chinese authorities and Lu used banned or prohibited images in the film.
It is unclear what punishment Low will receive for producing the film, which debuted at Cannes earlier this year and is officially a co-production between Singapore and Germany. The film is still unreleased in China.
Lu was not present at the Golden Horse ceremony in Taiwan, but his wife Ma Yingli was. I read a statement in which Law described making “Unfinished Film” as “the most special directorial undertaking” he had ever undertaken. Lu has previously delved into other sensitive topics including gay sex and the 1989 Tiananmen protests.
Chinese actor Zhang Zhiyong, who won best actor for his role in “Bel Ami,” a Chinese-language gay drama, was also absent, but his presence was felt. “Bel Ami,” directed by Chinese Jing Jun but officially a French production, won the award for best cinematography and the award for best film editing.
Wang Xiaoshuai, another Chinese director who risked official criticism by premiering his Cultural Revolution film “Red Dust” in Berlin without government permission, was named the winner of best adapted screenplay.
“Despite the sensitivity of the awards, more than 200 Chinese films were entered into this year’s competition, which Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council said was the largest number in recent years,” AFP reported.
Taiwan applies a quota on the number of Chinese films that can be shown in its cinemas. By winning Best Film on the island, Unfinished Film can now avoid restrictions, and its Taiwanese distributor has reportedly now set a December 20 release date. “Red Dust” and “Bel Ami” do not have releases scheduled in mainland China.
Mainland China held its own awards ceremony, the Golden Rooster Awards in Xiamen, six days ago. The film “Article 20”, directed by Zhang Yimou, won the best film award.