Renowned Chinese actress Gong Li (鞏俐) is to chair the jury at the 55th Golden Horse Awards following an invitation from Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival executive committee chairman Ang Lee (李安), the committee said on Tuesday.
Lee, a two-time Oscar-winning director and chair of the jury in 2013, believes that Gong is the right person, as she is an important figure in the Chinese-language film industry and has considerable international experience, the committee said in a news release.
Gong expressed her gratitude, willingness to accept the challenge and unreserved dedication to the cinematic arts, it added.
Photo: Hsu Shih-ying, Taipei Times
The actress shot to stardom in 1988 with the release of Red Sorghum (紅高梁), which won the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale).
Gong has also starred in Ju Dou (菊豆, 1990) and Raise The Red Lantern (大紅燈籠高高掛, 1991), both of which were nominated for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards, the news release said, adding that Farewell My Concubine (霸王別姬, 1993) is the only Chinese-language film to win the Palme d’Or, the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival.
Gong’s moving performance in The Story of Qiu Ju (秋菊打官司, 1992) also won her the Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival.
Gong has previously chaired juries at the Berlinale, Venice Film Festival and Tokyo International Film Festival.
The deadline for submissions to the awards, which includes features, documentaries and animated features, is July 31, the news release said.
The awards ceremony is to be held on Nov. 17 at National Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.
A full list of nominees and jury members is to be released on Oct. 1, the committee said.
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