Taiwanese teenager Su Pin-chieh (蘇品杰) has won the best lead actor award at the Asian Pacific American Film Festival in Washington for his role in the film A Doll’s Hug (擁抱).
The film’s producer and director, Rob Chih-wen Lo (羅志文), who accepted the award on Su’s behalf on May 13, said he was excited and proud that Su had won.
Su was 15 years old when he took the role of a Taiwanese boy who learns to fight against violence while living in a world full of Barbie dolls.
Photo: CNA
After shooting the film, Su enrolled in a drama class at Taipei Municipal Fuxing Senior High School, where he is now in his second year, Lo said.
A Doll’s Hug was inspired by real-life events, as he and his elder brother were often bullied as children, Lo said, adding that his brother died from leukemia and his father had a miraculous recovery from the disease three years ago.
These events prompted him to make the film, said Lo, who is a graduate of the Department of Drama and Theater at National Taiwan University and a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists.
A Doll’s Hug premiered at last year’s Slamdance Film Festival in Utah and was featured at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, with sponsorship from the Ministry of Culture.
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