Taiwanese director David Lim (林宗儒) has won the best director award for a short foreign-language film for his movie Fight (少年小鬼我在路上) at this year’s London International Filmmaker Festival.
Fourteen directors from different countries were nominated in the category, which Lim won for his direction of a movie without dialogue.
The 15-minute film tells the story of a child seeking revenge after a fight and chronicles the obstacles he faces with near childlike imagery, the London edition of Film: The Magazine said.
Photo: CNA
Silent films come off a little experimental by nature and it is not easy for them to win an award in the drama genre, Lim said.
A wonderful musical score and a touching performance were integrated in the best possible way by the director, the judges said, adding that Lim received the award for bringing such a commendable artistic work to life.
“My original idea was pretty straightforward: I wanted to make a simple movie unhindered by language, like reading a picture book when you were a child,” Lim said.
This is “a picture book for grown-ups,” Lim said, adding that he was very gratified and proud to win the award and for the opportunity to engage in exchanges with people from all over the world through his movie.
Although the film only took four days to shoot, production took more than 18 months, he said.
If the musical score had not been good enough, the film might have looked like a music video, he said.
Lim was also nominated for best original screenplay, while the movie’s lead actor, Shih Ming-shuai (施名帥), was nominated for best lead actor in a foreign-language film.
Shih was commended for his ability to convey the mood of the character without dialogue.
The age and mental state of the character is very different from him personally and there were also fight scenes, which made the role especially challenging, he said.
Shih said he was honored to receive a nomination for best actor.
The London International Filmmaker Festival was held from Feb. 10 to Saturday last week at the Crowne Plaza London Docklands.
The festival includes networking events, professional talk panels and workshops for both emerging artists and experienced creators to attend.
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