Taiwanese film Left-Handed Girl (左撇子女孩) on Monday was selected as one of the 15 films shortlisted for the Oscar for the best international feature film by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
The academy chose Left-Handed Girl from among 86 films from around the world.
The shortlisted films on Jan. 22 would be voted on to decide the nominees for the award.
Photo: CNA
Directed by Tsou Shih-ching (鄒時擎) and cowritten by Oscar-winning filmmaker Sean Baker, the coming-of-age drama centers on a left-handed girl navigating clashes with traditional patriarchal expectations.
The shortlist announcement came after the National Board of Review (NBR) earlier this month selected the film as one of its top five international films , continuing a streak of international recognitions it has received since May.
It has won awards at more than 15 international festivals, including the Cannes, Zurich and Toronto competitions. It won best film at the International Rome Film Fest in October.
Being shortlisted for the Oscar was an important milestone for the film, Tsou said in the statement.
She thanked her partners who helped in the production for their dedication and contribution.
Through the film, “I hope I can push Taiwan to the front line of the international stage by allowing the world to see and understand Taiwan via a different culture and angle,” Tsou said.
In a separate statement, Minister of Culture Li Yuan (李遠) said the inclusion of Left-Handed Girl on the shortlist demonstrated Taiwan’s soft power and was an example of successfully promoting the country globally by combining a Taiwanese story with universal emotions.
He said he believed that it would be one of the films nominated for the award.
The only Taiwanese film to bag an the Oscar for best international film was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon directed by Ang Lee (李安), which won at the 73rd Academy Awards in 2001.
Other East Asian films that made the shortlist for the Oscars were Japanese production Kokuho and South Korean production No Other Choice.
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