Taiwanese filmmakers are to showcase five new projects in the middle of next month at the international film market of the Cannes Film Festival to promote diverse Taiwanese films globally.
Supported by the Ministry of Culture’s “1 plus 4-T-content plan,” the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee announced the participation of filmmakers in Golden Horse Goes to Cannes: Chen Yu-hsun (陳玉勳), Yang Ya-che, Huang Xi (黃熙), Giddens Ko (九把刀) and John Hsu (徐漢強), showcasing a range of genres from epic, romance, comedy and fantasy to gender awareness.
The films to be screened are The Chronicles of Libidoists (破浪男女) directed by Yang, Dead Talents Society (鬼才之道) by Huang, Kung Fu (功夫) by Ko, as well as Chen’s new film A Foggy Tale (大濛) and Daughter’s Daughter (女兒的女兒) codirected by Huang and Sylvia Chang (張艾嘉).
The Chronicles of Libidoists, the 2021 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion selectee, is a contemporary adaptation of The Little Mermaid exploring themes of sex and love. The cast includes Golden Horse Awards winner Wu Kang-ren (吳慷仁), nominee Will Or (柯煒林), and new talents Liu Chu-ping (劉主平) and Alisia Liang (梁湘華).
Meanwhile, in Dead Talents Society, directed by Hsu with support from veteran producers Lee Lieh (李烈), Aileen Li (李耀華) and Ivy Chen (陳怡樺), a rookie ghost teams up with experienced spirits to achieve legendary status.
Daughter’s Daughter delves into mother-daughter relationships and in vitro fertilization from a female perspective. The film is also supported by the ministry’s film project promotion and screenplay awards.
In Kung Fu, Ko assembled Golden Horse-winning actors Leon Dai (戴立忍), Kai Ko (柯震東) and Berant Zhu (朱軒洋) for a modern fantastic adventure depicting the journey of two high-school losers learning martial arts and unraveling the mystery of an old man.
Meanwhile, Chen focuses on Taiwan’s White Terror era in A Foggy Tale, depicting the story of a young girl on a life-threatening journey to raise money to redeem the remaining members of her family.
The film is presented by award-winning producers Yeh Ju-feng (葉如芬) and Lee Lieh, with a refreshing cast including Golden Horse Award winner Caitlin Fang (方郁 婷), nominee Will Or and musician-turned-actress 9m88 (湯氍綺).
The “1 plus 4-T-content plan,” with a budget of NT$10 billion (US$310 million) over four years, aims to revitalize Taiwan’s cultural content industry, including film and television.
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