Upcoming projects from directors Geng Jun, Wei Te-sheng and Giddens Ko and producers Philip Yung, Tom Lin Shu-yu and Katie Leung have been selected for Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (FPP), which runs November 17-19 in Taipei.
The Chinese-language film project platform has revealed 50 feature-length projects, comprising 12 work-in-progress (WIP) and 38 in-development titles covering a wide range of genres and themes. A record number of international co-productions are also featured.
The WIP lineup includes Dangling by We Are Champions director Chang Jung-chi, about a window cleaner trapped on a skyscraper; Dating Omakase, in which Far Far Away director Amos Why serves a romance through cuisine and dating apps; and Will You Still Be My Friend by director Lu Po-shun based on his award-winning short film.
A further two WIP projects are animated features Grandma And Her Ghosts 2: Baby Power, a sequel to Taiwan’s popular animation, and Singapore’s musical epic The Violinist, along with five documentaries including In The Spotlight, executive produced by Shen Ko-shang about legendary singer Kikuko Yatauyungana, and Ji Pa Ban by director Tay Bee-pin who tracks a controversial Singaporean figure across election battlefields.
Meanwhile, the in-development lineup carries several co-productions about the history between Taiwan and Japan: Granny’s Secret Journey by director Koto Nagata, the protégé of Shunji Iwai, who focuses on Wansei, the Japanese born in Taiwan during the colonial era; and Distant Thunder In The Afternoon, produced by Tom Lin Shu-yu for director Lim Kah-wei, which follows a father’s search for his daughter.
Previous winners or nominees of the Golden Horse Awards return with new projects. Mount Sancha by Warriors Of The Rainbow: Seediq Bale director Wei Te-sheng is about a rescue mission that reflects ethnic conflicts; Bel Ami director Geng Jun reteams with Golden Horse best actor Zhang Zhiyong in dark comedy Born After about cross-border families; Daughter’s Daughter director Huang Xi uses death to unravel mother-daughter secrets in A Shiny Life; and Till We Meet Again director Giddens Ko explores relations between humans and gods in Holy’s Home.
Hong Kong creators bring local stories to the fore. Blue Island director Chan Tze-woon collaborates with writer Mukyu to recount the life of a Hong Kong fixer in Nothing Happened; A Light Never Goes Out producer Saville Chan makes his directorial debut with Under The Peach Blossoms, a love story that mourns a city’s transformation; A Simple Life producer Roger Lee explores how Hong Kong’s golden age of cinema inspires filmmaking dreams in A Rolling Era; and Papa director Philip Yung is producing Nothing Goes Wrong about a grieving mother who discovers her late son’s clandestine affair.
Malaysian cinema has a strong presence through Woo Ming-jin who tackles the powerful elite through a small-town poisoning incident in White Rabbit; Abang Adik filmmaker Jin Ong’s Crying Dog, which portrays a forbidden romance between undocumented migrant workers; Tiger Stripes Cannes-winning director Amenda Nell Eu who explores women breaking free from the shackles of identity in Lotus Feet; and Shuttle Life director Tan Seng-kiat’s The Supermom And Three Stickmen, which follows a newlywed couple who takes on a criminal syndicate to recover their stolen wedding fund.
Further international productions include Blood Rush, a genre film that blends Taoist rituals and vampires, executive produced by actress Katie Leung from the Harry Potter film franchise; The Rhythm Man, a Taiwan-Korea romance between a drummer and an idol co-directed by Korean actor Jo Hyun-chul; and Luma, which marks a journey of rediscovering Indigenous identity by UK-based Taiwanese artist and film director Aephie Chen.
In addition to the 50 film titles that announced today (September 1), this year’s Golden Horse FPP also showcases 14 series titles that were previously announced, including an adaptation of the US National Book Award-winning novel Taiwan Travelogue and of Akira Higashiyama’s novel The Ones I Killed And The Ones Who Killed Me. The overall selection includes a record 22 international co-productions, reflecting the ongoing collaboration trend.
Last year, Golden Horse FPP recorded a total of 1,740 private pitching meetings, which took place during the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival.
2025 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion WIP Projects
Big Little Things (HK-US)
Dir. Michelle Zhou
Pros. Zhouchunyu YU, Junjie Zhai, Clarissa Zhang
Prodco. Snow Island Pictures Limited, Three Dots Films
Ji Pa Ban (Sing) documentary
Dir. Tay Bee-pin
Exec pro. Lynn Lee
Pro. Tay Bee-pin
Prodco. Wormwood Films Pte. Ltd.
Sunset Forest (Tai) documentary
Dir. Chian Yin-yun, Chen Hsiang-hao
Exec pros. Maso Chen, Chiang Po-jen
Pros. Chen Hsiang-hao, Chiang Po-jen
Prodco. The Classic Vision Co., Ltd., Formosan Wild Sound Conservation Science Center Co., Ltd.
Dead End (Tai)
Dir. Chan Chun-hao
Pros. Caster Wang, Vincent Chen
Prodco. inJECT Films
Vanishing Freedom (Tai) documentary
Dir. Ariel Tu
Pro. Diana Chiawen Lee
Prodco. Shorebound Productions
The Violinist (Tai-Sing-Sp-It) animation
Dirs. Ervin Han, Raul Garcia
Exec pros. Justin Deimen, Takafumi Yuki, Leonard Lai Yok-wai, Huichieh Danielle Yen
Pros. Ervin Han, Paloma Mora, Cristiano Bortone
Prodco. Robot Playground Media, Select Entertainment Co., Ltd., TV ON Producciones, Altri Occhi
In the Spotlight (Tai) documentary
Dir. Lu Yuan-chi
Exec pros. Elaine Hsiung, Shen Ko-shang
Pro. Hung Tin-yi
Prodco. Thirty-Seven Degrees Productions
Dating Omakase (HK-Tai)
Dirs. Amos Why, Frankie Chung
Exec pros. Amos Why, Teresa Kwong, Chen Pao-ying, Philo Wu
Pro. Edwin Fung, Teresa Kwong
Prodco. Dot 2 Dot Production Company Limited, Gray Wolf Production Co., Ltd.
The Cherry Orchard (Fr) documentary
Dir. Shen Yi
Exec pro. Jin Xing
Pro. Shen Yi
Prodco. Etoile D’or Divertissements
Will You Still Be My Friend (Tai-Sing)
Dir. Lu Po-shun
Pros. Eric Chou Tseng-chen, Su Yu-hao
Prodco. InLight Film Studio
Dangling (Tai)
Dir. Chang Jung-chi
Exec pro. Rachel Chen
Pros. Rachel Chen, Tung Ting-an, Yu Shun-wen
Prodco. We Are Champions Films Co., Ltd.
Grandma And Her Ghosts 2: Baby Power (Tai) animation
Dir. Wang Shau-di
Pros. Chang Ke-hsin, Yang Kai-ting
Prodco. Farmers’ Joy International Co., Ltd.
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