Taipei, July 9 (CNA) “Diamond Marine World,” a documentary about an ambitious Taiwanese man struggling to survive in Myanmar, was awarded the Grand Prize and Best Documentary awards at the 2023 Taipei Film Awards on Saturday.
The film by director Huang Hsiu-yi (黃琇怡) documents the journey of a Taiwanese shrimp farmer who has plans to make a fortune in Myanmar by starting a venture but becomes embroiled in accusations of criminal activities shortly after arriving in the country.
“Diamond Marine World” is a film about Taiwanese people trying to chase prosperity in Southeast Asia, Huang said after accepting the Grand Prize, which featured NT$1 million (US$31,971) in prize money and a trophy.
She added that “it is a story about trust, love, and forgiveness.”
Source: Taipei Film Festival
According to the jury, Huang’s documentary showed her ability to sift through a vast amount of footage she had shot in Myanmar and condense it into an “honest and “touching” work about the struggles of people with different values and cultural backgrounds.
The jury, led by director Chen Yu-hsun (陳玉勳), also commended Huang for her dedication to the work, taking note of the fact that she had filmed in Myanmar for several years with an “extremely tight budget.”
Huang received a grant of NT$800,000 from the government-funded National Culture and Arts Foundation in 2019 to make the documentary, according to government data, but the total budget of the film remains unclear.
This year’s Best Narrative Feature Award was given to “Gaga,” a story about an Atayal indigenous tribal family struggling to cope with one unfortunate incident after another.
Chen, chair of the jury, praised “Gaga” as a “rarely seen good work” with every aspect of the film well executed.
With an absurd local election as the plot line, “Gaga” delicately presents the close bond between the members of the Atayal family and the various challenges facing them and their tribe, the jury said.
Source: Taipei Film Festival
The director Laha Mebow (陳潔瑤), who is from the Atayal indigenous tribe, said in her acceptance speech that it took a lot of passion to work in the film industry because “there is often more agony than joy” in the filmmaking process.
However, Mebow said she would embrace this pain and continue making films in order to tell more stories about Taiwan’s indigenous tribes.
Saturday’s big winner was director Lin Chun-yang’s (林君陽) movie, “Eye of the Storm,” (疫起) which was awarded the Best Director, Best Actor, Best Art Design, Best Visual Effects, and Outstanding Artistic Contribution awards.
The movie, inspired by the 2003 SARS outbreak in Taiwan, portrays a group of young medical workers grappling with a deadly disease and tense human relationships at the hospital sealed off due to the spread of the virus.
Source: CatchPlayMovies
The Outstanding Contributions Award was given to photographer Liu Chen-hsiang (劉振祥) in recognition of his still images for movies made by award-winning directors Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢) and Chung Mong-hong (鍾孟宏).
Liu, 60, was first trained as a photojournalist and is best known for his coverage of social movements that had sprung up across Taiwan after martial law was lifted in 1987.
Meanwhile, the Best New Talent Award was given simultaneously to Wilang Lalin (洪金輝) for his role as a father struggling with uncertain future prospects in the indigenous family drama, “Gaga,” and Yeh Hsiao-fei (葉曉霏) for her role as a student protester in the coming-of-age film, “Who’ll Stop the Rain.”
The 2023 Taipei Film Awards received 292 submissions in total, including 40 feature films, 61 documentaries, 160 short films and 31 animations, where a nominated list of 29 films were chosen for the competitions, according to awards organizers.
Lu Hsiao-fen, who plays a hairdresser in her first film in 22 years — “Day Off” — wins the best actress award at Saturday’s Taipei Film Awards ceremony. Source: Bole Film
