Upcoming works by acclaimed filmmakers Chong Keat-aun, Philip Yung and Hung Tzu-hsuan are among 48 projects selected for this year’s Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (FPP).
The financing and co-production platform for Chinese-language projects is set to take place in Taipei from November 17-19 during the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.
The diverse lineup includes 38 in-development projects. Female-focussed narratives take centre stage with renowned Taiwanese host Janet Hsieh’s directing debut Menopause: The Ultimate Guide To Giving Zero F#&*s!, which tackles the trials of menopause with American-style humour; Drifting producer Mani Man Pui-hing’s directorial debut Between Seasons, in which four generations of mothers and daughters find themselves caught in a crisis of shifting identities; Hear Me and Workers director Cheng Fen-fen’s Tokyo, which looks back on the lives of Taiwanese women in the postwar era across two generations; and Port Of Call director Philip Yung’s Her Version Of The Truth, an adaptation of a narrative journalism piece of the same name, dissecting the psychological battle between a convicted female killer and a journalist.
Family life is also a key theme. Documentary filmmaker Hu Chin-ya (The Tales Of The Tale) moves into narrative features with coming-of-age drama Taipei Orphan. Golden Horse Award-winning short film director Chu Hoi-ying measures the distance between blood ties and familial bonds through a funeral in Half And Half. Taiwane American director Bertha Pan Bay-sa turns to jazz to repair a fractured father-daughter relationship in Jazzmine.
Several projects tackle social issues. Me And My Condemned Son director Lee Chia-hua expands his short film of the same name into Ash. Tsao Shih-han, Golden Horse best new director nominee for Before The Bright Day, explores the wealth gap and class divisions in Girl, Boy, The World’s End. Ana’s Way Home directed by Chuang Ching-shen touches on the bond between an Indonesian migrant worker and her Taiwanese employer that transcends blood and borders. Pang Ho-cheung’s Echoes In Eternity looks back on the tragic fate of young intellectuals lost to history in an era of revolution.
Gender identities and self-discovery also stand out. Murmur Of Memories director Chen Tzu-yang teams with Joanne Deng to adapt Chiu An-chen’s stage play of the same name in Like Father Like Mother. Singaporean writer-director Seah Wee-thye explores the difficult balance between a gay relationship and the bond between mother-and-son in Half Lives, with Number 1 director Ong Kuo-sin as executive producer.
Inventive genre projects are in the mix. Golden Horse best new director winner Chang Jung-chi pits a psychic businessman against a bloodthirsty evil spirit in a brutal showdown in Soul Beat. Hung Tzu-hsuan, director of box office hit 96 Minutes, has Press Start, Prime Minister! in which a Japanese prime minister who once ruled the arcades goes face-to-face with an esports champion in the ultimate showdown. Jimmy Hung, son of martial arts legend Sammo Hung, teams up with The Bridge Curse: Ritual action choreographer Wu Jun-xi to direct Once Upon A Time In Taiwan, in which a martial arts school joins forces with a detective to take down a fraud syndicate.
A string of international projects are also selected. Rotterdam Tiger Award winner Akira Ikeda blends an aesthetic of violence with romance in Becoming A Tree. Singaporean writer-director Huang Jun-xiang dissects the struggles of those shut out of the housing market in black comedy Build To Order. Golden Horse Award-winning Malaysian director Chong Keat-aun traces the harrowing history of comfort women in Malaysia during the Second World War in Blossom In Darkness. Emerging director Gary Tsang’s Before We Exhale confronts questions of life and death from the perspective of a family bereaved by suicide, with Golden Horse winner Geng Jun as executive producer.
The WIP section comprises 10 projects, including Chen Hung-i’s LGBTQ+ crime drama Syzygy Of Love; Laha Mebow’s Sali Maku-Rock The Mountain, a lighthearted family comedy about a young Atayal man who encounters his ancestral spirits; and A Banquet For Hungry Ghosts, an animated thriller by Yameme director Su Chun-hsu and Spencer Ooi that explores the nature of desire, with Ervin Han (director of Annecy top winner The Violinist) as executive producer.
A further four WIP projects are documentaries, including Parachute Kids by S. Leo Chiang (Island In Between, Oscar nominee for best documentary short) which delves into memories of his homeland and questions of identity.
A total of 59 projects will be presented this year, including 11 series projects, which were previously announced.
Acclaimed actor Chang Chen was earlier elected to assume the role of chairperson of the executive committee from 2026 for a two-year term, succeeding award-winning cinematographer Mark Lee Ping-bing.
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