Golden Horse Awards: Legendary actress, cinematographer receive lifetime achievement awards

Taipei, Nov. 23 (CNA) Legendary actress Cheng Pei-pei (鄭佩佩), known as the "queen of martial arts films" in Chinese-language cinema, and cinematographer Lin Wen-chin (林文錦), a local pioneer in Taiwanese-language cinema, received lifetime achievement awards at the 61st Golden Horse Awards on Saturday.

While Lin was recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award, Cheng was honored with the posthumous Lifetime Achievement (Memorial) Award, the second of its kind at the prestigious annual event.

When announcing the awards, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee recounted the contributions of Cheng to Chinese-language cinema, particularly in successful  martial arts period films in the genre known as "wuxia."

Cheng was a pioneer for women in action films. Her breakout role in the wuxia genre was as Golden Swallow in director King Hu's (胡金銓) "Come Drink with Me" (大醉俠) in 1966, which is still regarded as a monumental work in the history of martial arts in Chinese cinema.

During her six-decade career, Cheng starred in over 110 movies and 50 TV series, reinventing herself twice along the way.

Her first career revival involved her portrayal of Madam Wah (華夫人) in the action-comedy "Flirting Scholar" (唐伯虎點秋香) in 1993, starring Stephen Chow (周星馳) and Gong Li (鞏俐).

Her exaggerated performance as the film's villainess-turned-ally was a far cry from her regular heroine roles, which also opened the comedy door for her.

Her second peak came in 2000 with a return to drama in her role as Jade Fox in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" (臥虎藏龍) directed by Taiwan's Ang Lee (李安), which won her Best Supporting Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards.

Lee was also the presenter of Cheng's posthumous award to her children, including actresses Marsha Yuan (原子鏸) and Eugenia Yuan (原麗淇).

"When I shot 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,' I asked Sister Pei-pei (Cheng) to portray the villain Jade Fox, whom I felt was a sad character that I empathized with," Lee said, applauding Cheng's ability to portray such a complex character that was the opposite of her regular heroic roles. "She had a dedicated old school work ethic and was kind and sincere to all the cast and crew."

Lee went on to add that Cheng was a good actress and a good person. He recounted one day after hours of shooting an emotional scene for Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) had to be assisted off the set.

Cheng, who had already shot all her scenes for the film, then stepped forward to volunteer to act with lead actress Zhang Ziyi (章子怡) and feed her lines for a closeup.

"We will remember her," Lee said.

Cheng's four children received her award on her behalf.

"First, we would like to thank Golden Horse Awards for giving this award to our beloved mother," Cheng's son Harry Yuan (原和玉) said. "We feel very honored to receive this award on her behalf, especially from the hands of Director Ang Lee."

All four of Cheng's children thanked all the directors, cast and crew who worked with Cheng and her fans for her long and fruitful career.

Before her passing, Cheng's most recent film role was "The Matchmaker" in Disney's 2020 live-action remake "Mulan" (花木蘭).

Cheng further showcased her versatility by taking to the stage to play a street vendor who believes her husband was abducted by aliens in Taiwan-based Performance Workshop's "Sand and a Distant Star" (在那遙遠的星球,一粒沙) in 2015 at director Stan Lai's (賴聲川) Theatre Above in Shanghai.

"Performing wuxia scenes is physically demanding. I'm no longer young. It is perhaps better to do a stage play," she said when discussing the reduction in the time she spent doing action scenes at a press conference the day after the premiere in the Chinese city.

Cheng's international recognition also saw her share the screen with Ben Whishaw in the 2014 British drama "Lilting" as well as with Sandra Oh in the movie "Meditation Park," which opened the 2017 Vancouver International Film Festival.

On Lin's Lifetime Achievement Award, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee praised his professional longevity, saying his career pushed Taiwanese cinematography to new heights in films directed by Ting Shan-hsi (丁善璽), such as "The Everlasting Glory" (英烈千秋), "Eight Hundred Heroes" (八百壯士) and "The Battle for the Republic of China" (辛亥雙十).

Lin is the fourth consecutive cinematographer to receive the Golden Horse Lifetime Achievement Award since 2021.

Taiwan's blockbuster comedy filmmaker Kevin Chu (朱延平) introduced the 91-year-old.

When he took the stage, Lin joked about his age during his acceptance speech. "When I was young, I could carry a 60-kilo camera outdoors easily," he said. "I am now older, and this [the award] feels very heavy."

Lin thanked Taiwan's various film associations for nominating him for the award.

Lin also serenaded the audience with a short song expressing his gratitude to all the filmmakers and movie lovers whose efforts have kept the Golden Horse Awards alive for the last 61 years.

He also said he was very honored to have received the award and that it belonged to those he had worked with as well as his family, which supported him over the years.

"The achievement belongs to everyone," Lin said.

Lin is part of the first generation of cinema professionals in Taiwan nurtured by Central Motion Picture Corporation Studios and is a significant figure in cinematography.

He collaborated with multiple directors and was devoted to the industry for almost 50 years, during which time he participated in making nearly 200 films.

He won Best Color Cinematography at the 1967 Golden Horse Awards for his work on "Orchids and My Love" (我女若蘭) and was nominated twice for Best Cinematography with "The Diary of Di-Di" (蒂蒂日記) and "The Pioneers" (源).

His autobiography, published in 2020 and titled "A Life Behind the Camera: The Dream of a Village Boy" (掌鏡人生:一個田庄囝仔的夢), serves as a record of the Taiwanese film industry's development from the 1950s to the 1980s.