Singaporean director Nelicia Low (劉慧伶) thanked Taiwan for its assistance during film production when she received the Best Director Award for her debut feature film at the 58th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (KVIFF) in the Czech Republic on Saturday.
Pierce (刺心切骨) was produced by Taiwanese, Singaporean and Polish production companies and was the only Chinese-language film selected for the Crystal Globe Competition at the film festival. It tells the story of a former Taiwanese convict who tries to reconnect with his younger brother through the sport of fencing, while exploring themes of truth, doubt and familial ties.
Low spoke in English during her acceptance speech, but switched to Mandarin when mentioning “all the team members and actors from Taiwan.”
Photo: CNA
She expressed gratitude to important individuals involved in making the film, such as Golden Horse Award-winning sound designers Tu Duu-chih (杜篤之) and Wu Shu-yao (吳書瑤). Low, a former national fencer for Singapore, also thanked members of the Taiwanese fencing community for coming on set to be extras in the film.
“Thank you for traveling to be with me here tonight,” Low said with a choked voice, referring to her mother, father and older brother.
The director apologized to her parents for being “a rebel daughter” as a filmmaker and said she hoped they “don’t have to worry about me so much from now on.”
In an interview, Low said she has many partners in Taiwan who she can work with artistically, who she met when she shot her first short film, FREAK, in 2014, and that she was “very blessed” to have had the opportunity to shoot her first feature film in Taiwan, with grants from the city governments of Taipei, Taoyuan and Taichung.
Many schools and fencing clubs in Taiwan sent fencers to be extras on set, which showed that Taiwanese had a higher appreciation for art compared with other places, Low said about the Taiwanese fencing community.
“If the Taiwanese didn’t have such a great appreciation for films, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to make this film well,” she said. “It is because of the help from so many people that this film exists — I am very grateful.”
Many Taiwanese have developed a deep appreciation for films, due to Taiwan’s long cinematic history, view art as something worth pursuing and are willing to help filmmakers achieve their visions, she said.
“Because of this, I feel that shooting [Pierce] in Taiwan was a very good decision,” Low said.
Pierce received a three-minute standing ovation at its world premiere at KVIFF on Wednesday.
The film featured Taiwanese actors Tsao Yu-ning (曹佑寧), Liu Hsiu-fu (劉修甫) and Ding Ning (丁寧).
KVIFF is one of the International Federation of Film Producers Associations’ 14 “A-list” feature film festivals, along with the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice International Film Festival.
The Crystal Globe went to the UK’s A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things, while Norwegian film Loveable won the Jury Prize.
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