“My Missing Valentine” leads the Golden Horse Awards

“My Missing Valentine,” a fantasy comedy-drama directed by Chen Yu-hsun, won the top prize at the 57th Golden Horse Awards, picking up four other awards, including best director and best screenplay, at an in-person ceremony in Taipei on Saturday.

The awards for best actress and best supporting actress both went to 81-year-old veteran Chen Shu-fang for her performances in “Little Big Women” and “Dear Tenant,” respectively. An emotional Chen said this was her first red carpet appearance at the awards ceremony and she did not expect to walk on stage twice in one night.

Chen's “Dear Tenant” co-star Mo Tzu-yi won his first Golden Award for best actor for his performance in the unusual family drama, in which he plays a character who cares for his deceased friend's relatives.

While many film festivals and market events around the world have been suspended or held online due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Golden Horse Film Festival, along with the awards ceremonies and Taiwan Creative Content Fest, managed to take place in physical form. Ang Lee, chairman of the Golden Horse Awards, said this year's festival and awards ceremony can go ahead as usual because Taiwan has successfully contained the COVID-19 pandemic.

The awards have long been considered the pinnacle of Chinese-language cinema, but for the second year, most films from mainland China and Hong Kong are missing due to a boycott sparked by a winner's political speech in 2018.

Nevertheless, some independent projects from Hong Kong also took part in this year's awards ceremony. The screenplay for the romantic drama “Beyond the Dream” by Felix Tsang and Kiwi Chow was awarded the best adapted screenplay. The first feature film “Lost Course” by Hong Kong filmmaker Jill Li, which follows the 2011 Wukan protests on the Chinese mainland, won the award for best documentary.

Kwok Zune, one of the directors of “Ten Years,” won the award for best live-action short film with “Night Is Young,” which is about the 2019 Hong Kong protests. He dedicated the award to Hong Kong people and the 12 young people who were caught and detained by mainland police as they fled to Taiwan by boat.

Taiwanese auteur Hou Hsiao-hsien, 73, accepted the lifetime achievement award from a group of heavyweights, including Japanese director and Cannes award winner Hirokazu Kore-eda. “Without all of you, I would never have been able to make these films,” Hou told the audience, singing a standing ovation.

The evening also honored deceased filmmakers and industry figures, including actor Godfrey Gao, who died while filming a reality TV show in mainland China, and entertainer Alien Huang.

Winners of the Taipei Golden Horse Awards 2020
Best movie
“My missing Valentine”

Best Director
Chen Yu-hsun for “My Missing Valentine”

Best actor
Mo Tzu-yi in “Dear Tenant”

Best Actress
Chen Shu-fang in “Little Big Women”

Best supporting actor
Nadow Lin in “Classmates Minus”

The best supporting actress
Chen Shu-fang in “Dear Tenant”

Best New Artist
Chen Yan-fei in “The Silent Forest”

Best Original Screenplay
Chen Yu-hsun for “My Missing Valentine”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Felix Tsang, Kiwi Chow for “Beyond the Dream”

Best New Director
Chong Keat-aun for “The Story of the Southern Island”

Best Documentary
“Course lost”

Best Animated Film
“City of Lost Things”

Best Live Action Short Film
“The night is young”

Best Animated Short Film
“Night bus”

Best Camera
Yao Hung-i for “Here is your name engraved”

Best editing
Lai Hsiu-hsiung for “My Missing Valentine”

Best visual effects
Tomi Kuo for “My Missing Valentine”

Best Art Direction
Chao Shih-hao for “Classmates Minus”

Best Makeup and Costume Design
Raymond Kuek, Azni Samdin for “Number 1”

Best Action Choreography
Teddy Ray Huang, Li Shao-peng for “Get Out”

Best Original Score
Fran Chen for “Dear Tenant”

Best Original Song
“Your name is engraved here”

Best sound effects
Kuo Li-chi, Lee Dong-hwan for “The Silent Forest”

Lifetime Achievement Award
Hou Hsiao-hsien

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