Several Taiwanese productions have been shortlisted for awards at a US film festival, while a feature film has been nominated for an award at a Canadian festival, organizers wrote on Facebook.
Organizers of Canada’s Banff Rockie Awards International Program Competition announced that the Taiwanese LGBTQ+ feature film Silent Sparks (愛作歹) has been selected for the program’s Feature Length Film Award.
Coproduced by the Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation (PTS) and By-The-Blueprint Production, Silent Sparks narrates a drama about two ex-convicts who drifted apart after developing an intimate relationship during their incarceration.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Public Television Service Foundation
Starring Taiwanese actors Shih Ming-shuai (施名帥) and Akira Huang (黃冠智), the film is up against South Korea’s The History of Us, Canada’s Lowlifes, and Little Wing and Out of My Mind from the US.
The organizers said the winner would be announced on June 9.
Shih and Huang also costarred in the Taiwanese historical drama, Three Tears in Borneo (聽海湧), which has been shortlisted by the New York Festivals TV & Film Awards for a Drama Special award in the Entertainment Special category.
Also produced by PTS, the period piece tells the story of Taiwanese personnel forced to commit war crimes while working for and serving in the Japanese army in Borneo. At that time, Taiwan was a Japanese colony.
The show’s director Sun Jie-heng (孫介珩) said he was glad that Taiwan’s World War II story was being told to the rest of the world.
“I hope this message will encourage us to tell more Taiwanese stories,” he said.
The Taiwanese psychological thriller, Tasty Tongue (美味的舌頭), has also been nominated for a Student Film award.
The competition organizer said that all winners would be announced on May 22.
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