GOLDEN HORSE: 'A Sun,' 'Detention' biggest winners

Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) Taiwanese director Chung Mong-hong's (鍾孟宏) family drama "A Sun" (陽光普照) and Taiwanese director John Hsu's (徐漢強) psychological horror film "Detention" were the biggest winners at the 56th Golden Horse Awards in Taipei Saturday.

"A Sun," which entered the competition with 10 nominations, came away with best feature film, best director, best leading actor, best supporting male actor, best film editing, and the audience choice award at the ceremony held at Taipei's Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall that day.

The nearly three-hour feature is about a family of four, in which the father, A-Wen, is a driving instructor, the mother, Qin, is a hairdresser, and the elder son, A-Hao, is a high school senior preparing for his medical school entrance exam.

The film focuses on the problems of the younger son, A-Ho, who has been "different" since he was a child.

The judges said the film is filled with emotion and pays attention to the dark corners of peoples' souls. It also exposes the contrast and complements of good and evil.

(Cast and crew members of the movie 'A Sun')

"A Sun" is Chung's fifth feature film as a director, and in his acceptance speech for the best narrative feature, he said that every filmmaker meets their fair share of challenges when they make movies.

But despite the challenges, he still loves making movies, Chung added. "I like making movies to the extent that I find myself screaming out 'action' in my dreams."

The other nominees for this year's Golden Horse best feature film were Hong Kong director Ray Yeung's gay closeted drama "Suk Suk" (叔．叔), Taiwanese director Tom Lin's (林書宇) forbidden romance drama "The Garden of Evening Mists" (夕霧花園), Singaporean director Anthony Chen's drama film "Wet Season" (熱帶雨) and Taiwanese director John Hsu's (徐漢強) psychological horror film "Detention" (返校).

Box office hit "Detention," which entered the competition with 12 nods, came out with best new director, best art direction, best original film score, best adapted screenplay and best visual effects.

The film also became the highest-grossing domestic movie in Taiwan this year within three days of its release in September, and has since garnered more than NT$250 million (US$ 8.12 million) in box office receipts.

Established in 1962, the annual awards give recognition to excellence in the world of Chinese-language cinema.

This year's Golden Horse Awards has been dealt a heavy blow after China announced a boycott of the awards in August, banning Chinese filmmakers, actors and actresses from participating in the prestigious event.

The ban was an apparent response to political fallout from last year's ceremony, when Taiwanese documentary director Fu Yu (傅榆) called in her acceptance speech for Taiwan to be treated as an "independent entity," infuriating Beijing and the Chinese filmmakers who attended the ceremony.

Furthermore, China announced that its Golden Rooster Awards would be held annually instead of every two years, and that event took place Nov. 23 this year, the same day as the Golden Horse Awards, setting up a showdown between the two major Chinese-language awards.

Taiwan's Golden Horse Executive Committee has remained tight-lipped and low-key about the boycott. Taiwan's Ministry of Culture, meanwhile, has expressed regret and has called for Chinese officials not to interfere with cultural exchanges over political factors.

A complete list of winners at the 56th Golden Horse Awards is as follows:

[Best Visual Effects] Renovatio Pictures, Tomi Kuo (郭憲聰) / "Detention"

[Best Cinematography] Chen Ko-chin (陳克勤) and Chen Chih-hsuan (陳志軒) / "The Scoundrels"

[Best New Performer] Fandy Fan (范少勳) / "We Are Champions"

[Best Live Action Short Film] Chu Hoi-ying (朱凱濙) / "3 Generations 3 Days"

[Best Animated Short Film] Fish Wang (王登鈺) / "Gold Fish"

[Best Original Screenplay] Yeo Siew-hua (楊修華) / "A Land Imagined"

[Best Supporting Actor] Liu Kuan-ting (劉冠廷) / "A Sun"

[Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year] Tang Shiang-chu (湯湘竹)

[Best Sound Effects] Li Danfeng (李丹楓), Chou Cheng (周震), Morgan Yen (嚴唯甄) / "Nina Wu"

[Best Adapted Screenplay] John Hsu (徐漢強), Fu Kai-ling (傅凱羚), Chien Shih-keng (簡士耕) / "Detention"

[Best Supporting Actress] Winnie Chang (張詩盈) / "The Teacher"

[Best Film Editing] Lai Hsiu-hsiung (賴秀雄) / "A Sun"

[Lifetime Achievement Award] Wang Toon (王童) and Jimmy Wang (王羽)

[Best New Director] John Hsu (徐漢強) / "Detention"

[Best Documentary] Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) / "Your Face"

[Best Makeup & Costume Design] Nikki Gooley, Biby Chow (周麗明), Penny Tsai (蔡珮玲), Nina Edwards / "The Garden of Evening Mists"

[Best Art Direction] Wang Chih-cheng (王誌成) / "Detention"

[Best Original Film Score] The Day After Rain / "Detention"

[Best Original Film Song] Teo Wei-yong (張偉勇) / "A Land Imagined"

[Best Director] Chung Mong-hong (鍾孟宏) / "A Sun"

[Best Leading Actor] Chen Yi-wen (陳以文) / "A Sun"

[Best Leading Actress] Yeo Yann Yann (楊雁雁) / "Wet Season"

[Best Narrative Feature] "A Sun"

[Best Action Choreography] Hung Shih-hao (洪昰顥) "The Scoundrels"