Based on director Tony Ayre’s own life, Australian production The Home Song Stories garnered seven nominations and won the best original screenplay accolade. The story examines the complicated relationship between a Chinese-Australian son and his mother, a Hong Kong nightclub singer who follows her sailor lover to Australia.
The lifetime achievement award went to Edward Yang (楊德昌), who died of cancer in June at the age of 59. Yang, whose works were considered by many to be ahead of their time, had made seven feature films after his debut short In Our Time (光陰的故事), a collaboration with three other emerging directors in 1982. Yang’s feature debut, That Day on the Beach (海灘的一天), came out one year later and immediately caught critics’ attention for casting a poignant gaze on modern society.
Together with Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), Yang led Taiwan's New Wave in 1980s, writing a glorious page in the history of Taiwanese cinema. In 2000, Yang was awarded with the best director trophy at Cannes for his last film Yi Yi: A One and a Two (一一).
Disappointed that his directorial debut Secret (不能說的秘密) failed to secure nominations in major categories, pop star Jay Chou (周杰倫) excused himself from the ceremony saying it conflicted with his ongoing concert tour. The box office success scored well, though, in the music department, picking up best original film song.
“The best thing about winning the award is that you get to touch the hand of [award presenter] Tang Wei. The benefit of being a musician is that you get a shot both at the Golden Horse and Golden Melody Awards,” Chou’s music partner Fan Wen-shan (方文山) said.
The worst red-carpet dresser awards went to Hong Kong actress Charlie Yeung (楊采妮), who looked like a wedding cake in a pink flouncy dress. Taiwan’s Chang Chun-ning (張鈞甯) caught the fashion police’s attention with a yellow gown that resembled a massive curtain. Teen idol Mike He (賀軍翔) tried to set himself apart from the black-suited male crowd with brown shirt and green boots.
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