Taiwan‘s major awards body Golden Horse will have a consolidated presence at Cannes‘ Marché du Film for the first time, under the umbrella ‘Golden Horse Goes to Cannes’.
With support from Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture under the ‘1plus4’ Taiwanese content plan, Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee and the Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development have collaborated to organize “Golden Horse Goes to Cannes” at the premier festival’s film market.
On May 16, the collaboration will present five upcoming projects, helmed by directors Chen Yu-hsun, Yang Ya-che, Huang Xi, Giddens Ko and John Hsu.
Paranormal comedy Dead Talents Society by John Hsu has already secured major investment from Sony Pictures International Productions alongside Taiwan’s Activator, with the former also acquiring worldwide distribution rights and global remake rights.
Hsu’s debut feature Detention topped the domestic box office with over $8 million and also won the Best New Director and Best Adapted Screenplay at the Golden Horse Awards in 2019. Cast members for his sophomore feature will include Sandrine Pinna, Gingle Wang and Chen Bo-lin.
Yang Ye-che’s project The Chronicles of Libidoists will be presented at the market, which is billed as “a contemporary touch on sex and love” and inspired by The Little Mermaid. His previous film The Bold, the Corrupt, and the Beautiful won Best Narrative Feature at the Golden Horse Awards in 2017 as well as the Best Leading Actress and Best Supporting Actress awards. The cast for his new film includes Golden Horse Awards winner Wu Kang-ren and Will Or.
Giddens Ko will be presenting Kung Fu, with actors Leon Dai, Kai Ko and Berant Zhu attached to the project. The story is billed as a “modern fantastic adventure of two high school losers” and their journey in learning Kung Fu. His coming-of-age romance film You Are the Apple of My Eye became a breakout hit around Asia, reaching over $13 million in the domestic box office and breaking several box office records in overseas markets. The film was also later adapted into Japanese and Thai versions.
A Foggy Tale by Chen Yu-hsun is set during the White Terror period in Taiwan, following a young girl as she goes on a life-threatening trip to raise money to redeem the remains of her family.
With veteran actress Sylvia Chang attached to the project, Huang Xi’s Daughter’s Daughter will offer a deep look into mother-daughter relations as well as in-vitro fertilization.