Zhang Yimou’s ‘Shadow’ leads nominations for Taiwan’s 55th Golden Horse Awards

It’s November, and although Hollywood remains convinced it is the centre of the film world, Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards will be doled out on Saturday in a ceremony hosted by Matilda Tao at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei.

The 55th edition of the awards, created to recognise and celebrate excellence in Chinese-language cinema, is likely to be as diverse as it has been in the past, despite Zhang Yimou’s Shadow emerging as something of a front runner with 12 nominations.

But it’s Golden Horse, and surprises are not surprising.

A jury of film professionals with little to no interest in regional politics and sentimentality select the winners, making dull, Oscar-type sweeps a rarity in Taipei.

That same attitude has made Golden Horse the region’s oldest and most prestigious film accolade as well as something of an artistic bellwether.

Early on, Hong Kong dominated the awards, before Taiwan came into its own.

While Hong Kong still leads technical nominations, and Taiwan is the major player when it comes to on-camera talent, China has become a major force over the last decade.

But conspicuous by his absence is director Jia Zhangke, represented only by his wife and Ash is Purest White lead actress Zhao Tao’s best actress nomination.

Films by directors making their debuts – Hu Bo, Wen Muye, Mag Hsu and Hsu Chih-yen – are also up for best feature film alongside Shadow.