Shu Qi's directorial debut shortlisted for Golden Lion

Taipei, July 24 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of Culture (MOC) on Wednesday congratulated the nation's renowned actress Shu Qi (舒淇) for getting her directorial debut film shortlisted for the prestigious Golden Lion Award at the 82nd annual Venice International Film Festival (VIFF) in August this year.

VIFF announced the nomination of Shu's "Girl" (女孩) on Tuesday, marking it the eighth Taiwanese production or co-production to be shortlisted in a 2025 VIFF competition.

"Girl" joins the likes of Riverbed Theater's "Blur" (之間Blur), which was nominated for the extended reality (XR) section of the 82nd VIFF and also Taiwanese animation director Joe Hsieh's (謝文明) "Praying Mantis" (螳螂) for the annual festival's latest Orizzonti Short Films International Competition.

On Tuesday, Shu shared her reaction on the nomination with the public through a released statement.

Shu said she wanted to thank all of the movie's cast and crew, though the details of both the film and those involved have to remain confidential at this point.

The actress and the film's production company only released the names of the main cast, which included Taiwanese actor Roy Chiu (邱澤) and singer 9m88 at press time.

Shu went on to also thank her mentor, renowned Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien (侯孝賢), whose 1989 film "A City of Sadness" (悲情城市) won the award for which Shu is nominated at the 46th edition of VIFF in 1989.

"[I] would like to thank Director Hou the most," Shu said. "Without him, there won't be 'Girl.'"

She went on to thank the 2025 jurors of VIFF and everyone who helped her in her career, adding that she felt she had already won an award.

"Girl"'s producer Yeh Ju-feng (葉如芬) additionally revealed that Shu had decided to make her first film after an illustrious 30-year career as an actress after she served as a member of the 80th VIFF in 2023 and got the chance to enjoy films made by countless new directors.

Following Shu's nomination, Minister of Culture (MOC) Li Yuan (李遠) congratulated the actress on Wednesday.

Li implored members of the public to look forward to the release of many exciting Taiwanese films later this year before saying, "Let's usher in a new age of Taiwan films together."

According to the MOC, the last time Taiwan won an award at the annual VIFF was 12 years ago in 2013 when director Tsai Ming-liang's (蔡明亮) "Stray Dogs" (郊遊) won the 70th festival's Grand Jury Prize.

On the nominations of all Taiwanese filmmakers in the 2025 VIFF, Li said the MOC will award appropriate prizes and subsidies for their achievements, such as the NT$500,000 (US$17,000) reward for "Girl."

Li also said that his ministry will continue developing better movie production environments to support local filmmakers to further advance Taiwan's films on the international platform.