Taiwan's 'A Sun' wins Houston Film Critics Society award

Taipei, Jan. 19 (CNA) Taiwanese film "A Sun (陽光普照)," directed and co-written by Chung Mong-hong (鍾孟宏), has been named best foreign language feature of 2020 by the Houston Film Critics Society (HFCS).

The award comes one month after the movie, which tells of a family torn apart and forced to rebuild in the face of multiple setbacks, was placed on the list of "best films of 2020" by the American weekly entertainment publication Variety.

The HFCS, a non-profit film critic organization, announced the winners of its annual film awards for 2020 virtually in Houston, Texas, on Monday.

"A Sun" was singled out in the Best Foreign Language Feature category, beating other nominations that included Danish film "Another Round," Brazilian-French film "Bacurau," Russian "Beanpole," and Guatemalan film "La Llorona."

The award is expected to boost the film's chance of success after being nominated as the Taiwanese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards.

The 2019 HFCS best foreign language feature, South Korean black comedy thriller "Parasite," won a leading four awards at the 92nd Academy Awards -- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best International Feature Film -- becoming the first non-English language film to win the Oscar for Best Picture.

"A Sun," staring Chen Yi-wen (陳以文), Samantha Ko (柯淑勤), Wu Chien-ho (巫建和), and Liu Kuan-ting (劉冠廷), premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6, 2019.

It earned 11 nominations at the 2019 Golden Horse Awards in Taipei, eventually winning Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Leading Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Film Editing.