“Papa Fujii’s Unexpected Journey,” a film project about a Japanese man’s attempt to understand his dead daughter’s life in Taiwan was named as the grand prize winner at the 2012 edition of the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion event. It wins a NT$1 million ($36,000) prize.
Prizes were announced on Wednesday evening at a ceremony as part of the ongoing Golden Horse Film Festival (Nov. 11-28, 2021). The Golden Horse Film Awards, often regarded as the most important for Chinese-language cinema, will be announced on Saturday (Nov. 27).
“Unexpected Journey” is to be directed by Hou Chi-jan, a writer-director and cinematographer best known for his 2012 film “When a Wolf Falls in Love With a Sheep.” The jury judging the project market praised the project’s “humanistic warmth and portrayal of intergenerational reconciliation,” and said that it is “not only poetic but also possesses commercial potential.”
The project market involved a record-high 63 works with some in development, some in progress and some in the TV series format. Organizers facilitated 1,205 meetings between creatives and potential backers. “The extremely high-quality further [demonstrated] that enthusiasm for the Chinese-language film market has not been dampened by the pandemic.,” said organizers. They made no reference to the ongoing boycott of the film festivals and awards show by participants and films from mainland China that followed a pre-independent acceptance speech that took place at the 2018 film awards ceremony.
Golden Horse Film Project Promotion: 2021 Awards
Grand Prize
“Papa Fujii’s Unexpected Journey” Dir. Hou Chi-jan. Prod. Aileen LI
Taipei Golden Creativity Award
“I Feel You” Dir-prod. Hsiao Ya-chuan.
CNC Cash Award
“Homework” Dir. Jacky Yeap. Prod. Edward Lim.
FPP Visionary Award
“Stranger Eyes” Dir. Yeo Siew-hua. Prods. Fran Borgia, Stefano Centi, Jean-Laurent Csinidis, Denis Vaslin.
TAICCA Original Awards
“The Young Hoodlum” Dir. Yu Jhi-han. Prod. Hsieh Chun-yao.
“Mama Pingpong Social Club” Dir. Chuang Shiang-an. Prod. June Wu.
“Grandma and Her Ghosts 2 – Baby Power” Dir. Wang Shau-di. Prod. Fish Wang.
Catchplay Global Spotlight Award
“A Good Child” Dir. Ong Kuo Sin. Prods. Tay Pei Qin, Kuo Jo-chi.
MirrorFiction Story Award
“Q & I” Dir. Yang Ya-che. Prod. Akiela S.Y. Wang.
Central Picture Corporation Award
“ ’80s Diary in Taiwan” Dir. Chuang Yung-hsin. Prod. Chen Pao-ying.
Work in Progress Award
Taipei New Horizon Screenplay Award
“See You At The Rally” Dir. Chang Shu-wei. Prods Nicole Teoh, Jerry Tung.
Series Awards
Screenworks Series Award
“The 9th Precinct” Prod. Sam Yuan Tzu-hsiang. Dir. Leo Wang.
MyVideo Creative Series Award
“Mixologist” Prod. Rachel Chen. Director: Lou Yi-an.