Hong Kong film "Drifting" (????) received the most nominations -- 12 -- at the 58th Golden Horse Awards, when the organizers unveiled the list of nominees for the leading film awards in the Chinese-speaking world on Tuesday.
"Drifting," based on a real-life incident that involved homeless people in Hong Kong, is nominated in the best narrative feature category, while its director Jun Li (???) will also compete in the categories of best director, and best adapted screenplay, according to the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee's announcement made during a press conference.
Four of the film's cast members have been nominated, including Francis Ng (???) for best leading actor, Tse Kwan-ho (???) and Will Or (???) for best supporting actor, and Loletta Lee (???) for best supporting actress.
The film is also nominated for best cinematography, best makeup & costume design, best film editing, and best original film score. A song of the same title is shortlisted for the best original film song.
Meanwhile, three other films received 11 nominations. They are "The Soul" (??), "The Falls" (??) and "Till We Meet Again" (??), all made in Taiwan.
These three films, along with "American Girl" (????), are the four other contenders for the best narrative feature award.
In addition to Li, nominees for best director include Cheng Wei-hao (???) for "The Soul," Chung Mong-hong (???) for "The Falls," Macau-born Clara Law (???) for "Drifting Petals" (????), as well as Malaysian director Ho Wi-ding (???) and his wife Hu Chih-hsin (???), who co-directed "Terrorizers" (????).
Meanwhile, scenic art consultant Frank Chen (???), who has been in the business of creating sets for more than three decades, was named "Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year" during Tuesday's announcement.
There will be two lifetime achievement award recipients this year -- cinematographer Lin Tsan-ting (???) and director Tsai Yang-ming (???), according to the committee's earlier announcement.
According to the committee, a total of 573 entries were submitted to the Golden Horse Awards, up from last year's 465, with a new category -- best documentary short film -- added this year.
However, with only two entries, the jury decided not to hand out the best animated feature award this year, according to committee CEO Wen Tien-hsiang (???).
The awards ceremony will take place at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei on Nov. 27.
All the nominated films will be screened during the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival from Nov. 11-28, along with a wide range of new and classic movies.
The festival will open with "Terrorizers," which was filmed in Taiwan, and close with "Keep on Walking: the Man and His Higher Course" (??.??), a documentary on legendary director Lee Hsing (??), who passed away at 91 in August.
This year's festival will pay tribute to Japanese director Shinji Somai, who died in 2001, by showing seven of his films, according to the committee.
While the full program has not been made public, the committee has announced 10 foreign films that will premiere in Taiwan during the festival, including five that had their world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in July.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel