The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee has chosen actress Brigitte Lin (林青霞) and director-cinematographer Chen Kun-hou (陳坤厚) as winners of this year’s Lifetime Achievement Awards.
“The outstanding showmanship demonstrated by Lin has cemented her unfaltering status as an icon and a legend,” the committee said in the statement announcing Lin’s award.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Lin’s first movie, so it is a fitting time to bestow the honor on her, the committee said.
Photo: Pan Shao-tang, Taipei Times
Although Lin has mostly retired from acting, her timeless performances have cemented her image as a quintessential beauty in the hearts of many movie fans, it said.
Lin in a statement thanked the committee for the recognition, saying she would attend the Golden Horse Awards ceremony to accept the award.
The ceremony is to be held on Nov. 25 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee
Lin made her cinematic debut at the age of 17 in 1973’s Outside the Window (窗外), which was adapted from the eponymous novel by author Chiung Yao (瓊瑤). She went on to star in a string of movies adapted from Chiung’s works in the early stages of her career.
She later starred in several Hong Kong movies including action star Jackie Chan’s (成龍) Police Story (警察故事) as well as Peking Opera Blues (刀馬旦).
Lin became an icon in the wuxia genre following major roles in such classics as Swordsman II (笑傲江湖II東方不敗) and Dragon Inn (新龍門客棧).
She performed her most classic roles in Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai’s (王家衛) Chungking Express (重慶森林) and Ashes of Time (東邪西毒).
Lin was nominated for the Golden Horse’s Best Leading Actress for 1980’s Magnificient 72 (碧血黃花) and 1982’s Hui Yan Shih Ying Hsiung (慧眼識英雄), before winning the award in 1990 for her role in Red Dust (滾滾紅塵).
“Chen has made outstanding contributions to cinema over his career spanning six decades,” the committee said, adding that this year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of his award-winning movie Growing Up (小畢的故事).
Chen in a statement thanked people who have offered him guidance and others whom he has worked with during his career.
Chen began his career as an assistant cinematographer in the 1960s and became a director of cinematography in the 1970s. Some of his early works include The Story of Mother (母親三 十歲) and The Story of a Small Town (小城故事).
In the 1980s, Chen collaborated with director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) on Hou’s Lovable You (就是溜溜的她), Cheerful Wind (風兒踢踏踩) and The Sandwich Man (兒子的大玩偶).
Chen has since taken up directing, winning the Golden Horse Best Feature Film award in 1983 for Growing Up.
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