The name of the Golden Horse film awards is an amalgam of the "frontline" islands of Kinmen (
However, on the eve of the ceremony for this year's awards, the question deserves to be asked: In whose service are these awards held?
The claim that the Golden Horse Awards are a Chinese version of the Oscars is, despite ongoing cross-strait rancor, quite defensible. Yet there is something that remains a little unusual about the Golden Horse in the world of film festivals: To qualify, the language must be some variety of Chinese, which amounts to a reification of Greater China cultural features.
But the films involved are largely market-driven. One need not scan the nominees of previous years too closely to discover that there has been a slow erosion in the proportion of Taiwanese product, a situation generated by the decline of the local film industry as a provider of mass entertainment as audiences switch to DVDs, KTV and cable television. All too rare are new releases of downmarket product that could sustain the careers of a critical number of actors, directors and other film craftspeople. No more, for example, are the compulsory military service comedies and child-monk martial arts action-comedies of Chu Yin-ping (
Admittedly, Taiwan is not alone in this regard. The Hong Kong film industry is a ghost if its former glorious self, crippled by changing tastes, DVD piracy and the strength of Hollywood product. Market forces do not lie, yet there is something tremendously sad and atomizing about the end of this rapid-response relationship between filmmaker and audience. Taiwanese filmmakers have responded to this challenge by producing a much smaller number but much higher proportion of quality films.
One of these filmmakers, Ang Lee (
The good news is that even if the Golden Horse Awards are in thrall of Greater China cultural markers, there are still admirable and entertaining Taiwanese films ignored by Golden Horse that would otherwise be drowned in the wake of Hong Kong juggernauts such as Election (
Film critic and journalist John Hinde once wrote about the phenomenon of seeing the world through other people's films. His book on the matter was Other People's Pictures, and he admired the relationship that existed between industry and audience in places like Hong Kong. But make no mistake: The last thing this country needs is an attempt to rebuild a film industry based on propaganda.
Surely, however, it is in the interests of this nation for the government to provide more seed money -- with no political strings attached -- to talented filmmakers to restart that relationship between a popular audience and local storyteller?
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