The documentary A Holy Family (神人之家) won the Grand Prize, as well as Best Documentary and Best Editing, at the Taipei Film Festival on Saturday.
The Taiwanese-French production is an autobiography by director Elvis Lu (盧盈良) and tells a story of self-discovery through his return to his village following a 24-year absence. The documentary unfolds as Lu returns to his family to face the motivation behind his departure.
The jury called the film “extremely moving,” and said that it shows the sincere longing between family, the land and the gods.
“The balance between emotion and record is controlled and profound, like a stroke
American Girl (美國女孩) is a slice-of-life drama that captures a short but turbulent period in the life of 13-year-old Fen (Caitlin Fang, 方郁婷), who is suddenly transplanted from Los Angeles to Taipei, where her father works, due to her mother’s cancer treatment.
The much hyped film was made available last week on Netflix after a strong Golden Horse showing last year: Fiona Roan Feng-i (阮鳳儀) won best new director, Fang claimed best new actor while the film won best cinematography and the Audience Choice Award.
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/ Staff writer, with CNA“It was a crisis moment for all of us, and not just me.” That is how writer-director Fiona Roan Feng-i （阮鳳儀） remembers 2003, when she was uprooted from the US as a 13-year-old after her mother was diagnosed with cancer and brought back to Taiwan, where she had lived as a young child.
“It was a crisis moment for all of us, and not just me.” That is how writer-director Fiona Roan Feng-i (阮鳳儀) remembers 2003, when she was uprooted from the US as a 13-year-old after her mother was diagnosed with cancer and brought back to Taiwan, where she had lived as a young child.
It was a turbulent time in Roan’s life, but one that would later shape her debut feature film American Girl, (美國女孩) which earned her the Best New Director award at the Golden Horse Awards.
The film went on to gross more than NT$10 million (US$356,875) at the box office