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The 27th Taipei Film Festival is set to open on June 20. On June 6, the festival announced the highly anticipated host and presenter lineup for the Taipei Film Awards ceremony. Multitalented performer Esther Liu—renowned for her achievements in singing, acting, and hosting—will serve as the host. Five presenter pairings, each combining popularity and talent, were also unveiled, promising a glamorous and captivating night.

Taking on the role of host for a major awards ceremony for the first time, Esther Liu expressed her excitement: “It’s truly an honor to be the host, and I will give it my all!” Since her debut as a teen, Liu has continuously challenged herself throughout her career. She noted, “Hosting is like acting in a different form,” underscoring her unwavering passion for performing regardless of the role. With the focus of an actor and the charm of a host, she is set to...

Busan Dean Appointment

Zhang Lu, the Chinese Korean director, has been appointed as dean of the Chanel x Biff Asian Film Academy, part of the Busan International Film Festival.

Zhang has been making feature films since 2004, when his “Tang Poetry” won acclaim at the Locarno and Vancouver festivals. He has since made titles including “Grain in Ear” (2005), which won the New Currents Award at Busan, “Desert Dream” and the recent “The Shadowless Tower.” He was also a professor at Yonsei University for eight years.

Indonesia’s Kamila Andini was announced as the Academy’s directing mentor, while Urata Hideho is set as cinematography mentor.

The Academy’s 20-day curriculum runs Sept. 22nd to Oct. 11th. The main festival runs Oct. 2-11 and the Asian Film Market (Oct. 5-8).

Old Fox Keeps Winning

“Old Fox,” directed by Hsiao Ya-chuan, won five of the top prizes at the Taipei Film Awards. Its haul included best feature,...

Suman is a filmmaker, presently living in Mumbai, India. Suman's debut Oscar® Qualified short film ‘The Silent Echo' has won the ‘Best Short of the Festival' at the Raindance Film Festival, ‘Asian New Wave Award' at the Kaohsiung Film Festival, ‘Best Film' & ‘Best Cinematography' at the ‘Critic's Choice Award' by Film Critic's Guild, India. His second short film, ‘Cry Me A River', set in Taiwan, had its World Premiere at Palm Springs International ShortFest and will have its European premiere at Raindance Film Festival.

Suman Sen talks about Silent Echo and the production of “Cry Me a River”, shooting in Taiwan, the victims of progress and loneliness, his cooperation with Lee Yi-chieh and Ivy Chen and other topics.

The Silent Echo was quite successful particularly in the festival circuit. Did this success help you move forward, particularly regarding the production of “Cry Me a River?”

Absolutely. Every film follows its...

Led by an excellent performance by Golden Horse winner, 12-year-old Audrey Lin, who had already proven her talent in “American Girl” but really lifts off here, “Trouble Girl” focuses on a girl with Adhd, in a style that will remind many of “Amiko”, but is also a rather different animal.

Trouble Girl is screening at Udine Far East Film Festival 2024

The girl in focus is Xiaoxiao and her energy and high sensitivity has been causing problems for her, her parents, and her classmates since childhood. And while the school environment offers some consolation, as the teachers of her classroom have explained her situation to other students and asked for understanding and help, the same does not apply in her home, as her father is constantly abroad working and her mother, Wei-fang, is really struggling. One of the most supportive teachers at school is Paul, who does retain, however, an affair with Wei-fang,...

The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival is to showcase five upcoming Taiwanese projects at Cannes including features from Chen Yu-hsun, Yang Ya-che, Huang Xi, Giddens Ko and John Hsu with stars such as Wu Kang-ren, Gingle Wang, Kai Ko, Caitlin Fang and Karena Lam.

The new programme, titled Golden Horse Goes To Cannes, comprises works-in-progress projects and will be presented to industry professionals on May 16 at Palais K during the Cannes Film Festival. It marks Golden Horse’s first collaboration with the Marche du Film.

See below for full project list

The collaboration was initiated by Taipei Golden Horse Film...

‘’Eye Of The Storm’ and ‘Marry My Dead Body’ also secure several nods.

Chong Keat-aun’s historical epic Snow In Midsummer leads the nominations for the 60th Golden Horse Awards in Taiwan, scoring nine nods including best film and best director.

Lin Chun-yang’s Sars drama Eye Of The Storm and Cheng Wei-hao’s ghost comedy Marry My Dead Body are close behind with eight nominations apiece.

Each will compete in the best film category along with Stonewalling by husband-and-wife team Huang Ji from mainland China and Ryuji Otsuka from Japan, and Time Still Turns The Pages, the feature debut...

’Day Off’ marks the first film of veteran actress Lu Hsiao-fen in 20 years.

Taiwan-based sales agent MandarinVision is launching Xiao Xiao, starring More Than Blue’s Ivy Chen, and Day Off, the first film of veteran actress Lu Hsiao-fen in 20 years, at Busan’s Acfm.

Produced by Yeh Jufeng of Oscar-shortlisted A Sun, Xiao Xiao marks the feature directorial debut Chin Chia-hua and is a family drama about a young girl whose world starts to fall apart when she discovers that her mother is having an affair with a teacher in her school.

The cast is led by Chen from...