Veteran Taiwanese cinematographer Lai Cheng-ying (賴成英), a Golden Horse lifetime achievement award winner, has died at the age of 95, according to a film industry official.
Following rumors that Lai died Saturday, Lu Jun-ming (呂俊銘), secretary-general of the Chinese Society of Cinematographers, confirmed the news yesterday, writing in a Facebook post, “Lai-san, we will always remember you.”
Lu said he learned of Lai’s passing early Sunday through a message in a cinematographers’ group chat.
Photo courtesy of Lu Jun-ming via CNA
“Last year I visited him at home, and we were still in touch earlier this year via Line,” Lu said. “His passing is a great loss, and he will be deeply missed.”
According to Lu, Lai co-founded the association 37 years ago and regularly shared technical knowledge and industry experiences at gatherings, benefiting younger generations of cinematographers.
Born in Taichung in 1931, Lai was among Taiwan’s first generation of film professionals trained by the predecessor of Central Motion Picture Corp.
He entered the film industry in the 1950s, working his way up from assistant cameraman to cinematographer and later director. He was also sent to Japan to study color cinematography and film processing, bringing back new techniques to Taiwan.
Lai began a long-running collaboration with director Lee Hsing (李行) in 1963 on Our Neighbor and went on to win three Golden Horse Awards for best cinematography for the films Beautiful Duckling, Stars Gathering, and Execution in Autumn.
He was awarded the Golden Horse Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022. At the age of 91, Lai said at the time, “Although I am older and not as strong as before, I love film as much as everyone here and will continue moving forward with you.”
Tributes have also been posted online by many professionals in Taiwan’s film community, including former Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute Chairman Lan Tsu- wei (藍祖蔚).
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