The locally produced psychological horror film Detention (返校) was the biggest winner at the Taipei Film Awards on Saturday, snatching up the NT$1 million (US$33,769) grand prize and five others.
The high-grossing film, adapted from a video game of the same name, also clinched awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Actress, Best Art Design, Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Design.
The film grossed more than NT$67.7 million at the box office in its first three days.
Photo: Chiang Ying-ying, AP
Set in the 1960s during the White Terror era, the movie follows two high school students trapped in an empty school full of vengeful spirits, as they search for a teacher who has disappeared.
The jury praised the film as unique in Taiwan’s movie history.
“This movie opens new doors for filmmaking in Taiwan because the idea for the film came from a video game, but it also addresses Taiwan’s White Terror history,” jury president Wu Nien-jen (吳念真) said.
“This is a direction that Taiwan can build on in the future,” Wu said.
Gingle Wang (王淨) won Best Actress for her role in the film.
Mo Tzu-yi (莫子儀) won Best Actor for the crime drama Dear Tenant (親愛的房客), which investigates the death of a grandmother and the tenant of her rooftop apartment.
Chang Jung-chi (張榮吉) won Best Director for the basketball drama We Are Champions (下半場), which focuses on the relationship of two brothers.
The film also clinched the awards for Best Cinematography, accepted by filmmaker Chen Ta-pu (陳大璞), and Outstanding Artistic Contribution, won by stunt performer Hung Shih-hao (洪?顥) and choreographer Chia Fan (賈凡).
The Best Documentary award was given to Wu Hui-ling (吳蕙伶) on behalf of her elder sister Wu Yu-ying (吳郁瑩), who directed The Good Daughter (阿紫), a film about the staggering account of a Vietnamese immigrant who faces a dilemma in trying to support her disabled husband and her family in Vietnam.
The film focuses on the marginalized community and records the challenges people at the edge of society face, the jury said.
Wu Yu-ying also won the Best Editing award for the documentary.
Lo Chen-wen (羅晨文) accepted the award for Best Short Film for directing the 16-minute In This Land We’re Briefly Ghosts (幽魂之境).
Based on a true story, the movie follows 12-year-old soldier Su Su Myat and her mute brother, who are imprisoned after deserting their unit. Denied food and water, Su Su Myat is forced to choose between killing her ill brother or risking dying with him.
This year, 331 films — 51 feature films, 49 documentaries, 187 short films and 44 animations — were submitted to the awards’ selection committee.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS