Snow In Midsummer, co-produced by Singapore, gets 9 Golden Horse nominations
TAIPEI – Historical drama Snow In Midsummer, produced by Singapore’s August Pictures and companies from Malaysia and Taiwan, has bagged the most number of nominations – nine – at Taiwan’s upcoming Golden Horse Awards.
Snow In Midsummer, directed by Malaysian film-maker Chong Keat Aun, is the first movie produced by August Pictures. It stars actors such as Singapore’s Peter Yu, Malaysia’s Pauline Tan and Alvin Wong, and Taiwan’s Wan Fang and Cheng Jen-shuo.
The movie, set in Kuala Lumpur, follows a Chinese family dealing with the aftermath of the May 13 race riots in 1969. It was awarded the Special Mention Musa Cinema & Arts Award at the recent Venice International Film Festival.
For the Golden Horse Awards, it is up for prizes such as Best Narrative Feature, Best Director for Chong, Best Supporting Actress for Wan Fang and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Chong, 45, was named Best New Director for The Story Of Southern Islet at the Golden Horse Awards in 2020.
Mr Chow Wai Thong, founder of August Pictures, told Shin Min Daily News that the film was shot in Kuala Lumpur and Penang, with filming completed around May 2022.
He told the Chinese-language evening daily that he was a bit surprised by the nine nominations.
“I didn’t expect the first movie to be nominated for so many awards. It’s very encouraging and inspiring,” he said.
Mr Chow said he has always hoped to make films with a rich Nanyang flavour and multiracial elements, and he hit it off with Chong the director.
Mr Chow also praised Wan Fang.
“Wan Fang put in lots of effort during the filming period by actively studying the Nonya culture and learning the Singaporean and Malaysian languages,” he said.
Snow In Midsummer was followed closely in the Golden Horse race by Taiwanese movies Marry My Dead Body and Eye Of The Storm, with both films receiving eight nominations each.
Marry My Dead Body, a supernatural comedy about the relationship between a homophobic cop (played by Greg Hsu) and a gay ghost (played by Austin Lin), is also Taiwan’s submission for the Best International Feature category for 2024’s Oscars.
It is up for Golden Horse Awards such as Best Narrative Feature, Best Director for Cheng Wei-hao, Best Leading Actor for Hsu and Lin, and Best Original Film Song for the song Untitled performed by Taiwanese singer Jolin Tsai.
Hsu, 32, and Lin, 35, will be competing for the Best Leading Actor with Wu Kang-jen (Abang Adik), Wang Po-chieh (Eye Of The Storm) and Ethan Juan (The Pig, The Snake And The Pigeon).
Lin won Best Supporting Actor in 2016 for At Cafe 6, while Juan, 40, won Best Leading Actor in 2010 for Monga. Hsu, Wu and Wang are first-time nominees.
The Best Leading Actress nominees are Hu Ling (Carp Leaping Over Dragon’s Gate), Audrey Lin (Trouble Girl), Chung Suet Ying (The Lyricist Wannabe), Monica Lu (Day Off) and Jennifer Yu (In Broad Daylight).
Lu, 66, won the Best Leading Actress award in 1983 for A Flower In The Raining Night, while Yu, 30, scored her first nomination in 2022 for Best Supporting Actress for Far Far Away. Hu, Lin and Chung are first-time nominees.
Besides Snow In Midsummer and Marry My Dead Body, the other contenders for Best Narrative Feature are Eye Of The Storm, Time Still Turns The Pages and Stonewalling.
The list of nominees for the 60th Golden Horse Awards was announced on Tuesday by Hong Kong actor Anthony Wong, the Best Leading Actor in 2022’s edition, and Mr Wen Tien-hsiang, chief executive of the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival’s executive committee.
The awards ceremony will be held at the National Dr Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei City on Nov 25.
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