Singaporeans directors Yeo Siew Hua (left) and Chiang Wei Liang have their works nominated at the awards. - REUTERS, TAIPEI GOLDEN HORSE FILM FESTIVAL
SINGAPORE: Two made-with-Singapore films, Mongrel and Stranger Eyes, have received a combined 13 nominations at Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, setting a new record for films made with Singapore participation at the event.
This surpasses the previous record of nine nominations set in 2023 by the historical drama Snow In Midsummer.
The nominees list for 2024 was announced by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival on Oct 2. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Taipei Music Center on Nov 23.
Stranger Eyes, a psychological thriller directed by Singaporean Yeo Siew Hua, has been nominated in six categories including Best Narrative Feature, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay.
The film explores themes of surveillance and privacy, following a young couple who receive strange videos after their baby daughter’s mysterious disappearance.
The film has been selected to open the 2024 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival, making its Asian premiere at the event scheduled to run from Nov 7 to 24. It had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Sept 5.
Mongrel, co-directed by Singaporean Chiang Wei Liang and Taiwanese Yin You Qiao, received seven nominations, including for Best New Director (for both Chiang and Yin) and acting nominations in three categories. The film, which earned Chiang the Camera d’Or Special Mention at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, portrays a Thai caregiver in Taiwan facing moral dilemmas.
Lai Weijie from E&W Films, the producer for Mongrel, said he was “so proud of our team”.
“This film brought together top film-making talents worldwide – the seven nominees hail from Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and France. The entire team worked very hard to bring Mongrel to life. We want to thank everyone for believing in us and the film, and thank you to Golden Horse for this strong recognition.”
Producer Fran Borgia from Akanga Film Asia called the six nominations for Stranger Eyes “an honour”, adding: “We are all truly grateful for this recognition, which means so much to us and to Singapore cinema.”
Justin Ang, assistant chief executive of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), said this was a “record year for Singapore’s film industry”.
“On the back of our strong showing at both the Cannes and Venice Film Festivals, we are overjoyed that two of our made-with-Singapore films have been recognised by one of Asia’s premier film awards with a record number of nominations.
“Both Mongrel and Stranger Eyes have done extremely well on the global stage with their recent wins and we are very proud of the Singaporean teams involved. IMDA is happy to have supported the film-makers on their journeys and we look forward to more good news soon.”
Taiwanese comedy-horror Dead Talents Society leads the 2024 Golden Horse Awards race with 11 nominations, followed by Yen And Ai-Lee and Bel Ami, both receiving eight nominations. - The Straits Times/ANN
