Golden Horses for Movie Makers

December 1979

中文

The shining Golden Horse statuette.

As well as being more glittering than ever this year, the annual Kinma (Golden Horse) awards presentation ceremony for outstanding Mandarin motion pictures was made more meaningful and significant by the new professional, artistic and internationalized standards set out by the organizer, the Government Information Office (GIO). Reflecting the glow of the Golden Horse, equivalent to the Oscar in the West, the Chinese movie industry has been making spectacular progress in the past few years. The value of the award this year was undoubtedly enhanced by the new emphasis introduced by GIO Director-General Dr. James C. Y. Soong and his team of organizers.

To ensure that all the deliberations were unbiased, no government officials were included in the panel of judges, made up of leading figures from the movie, music, art, literature, screenplay writing and communications circles. Hsu Chia-shih, chairman of the panel, pointed out that the final decisions were only made an hour before the ceremony started. "While the winners were the best, the standards of recent Mandarin movies assured that the losers also were of high quality," Hsu said.

To permit more public participation in the award ceremony, some 577 tickets were made available for general distribution at a cost of NT$100 (US$2.80) each. They were sold out in 20 minutes. The remainder was reserved for representatives of the movie industry, government officials and journalists.

A highlight of the ceremony was the appearance of three international movie stars, Elizabeth Taylor, James Mason and John Philip Law, who helped to draw world attention to progress in Mandarin films. Leading officials of the Asian Producers' Association and distributors of Chinese films overseas were also invited to promote the interchange of movie techniques and art, and to increase the popularity of Chinese films in the international market.

GIO director Dr. Soong particularly called on movie stars and workers to contribute their valuable opinions on how to promote Mandarin films in the future. Subjects of seminars held in conjunction with the ceremony ranged from the philosophy of movies and the technique and art of animation films to prospects for local films on international mar of posters from previous Cannes film festivals added extra glamor to the pageant.

The ceremony for the presentation of the Golden Horse awards, presided over by Chinese movie stars Sylvia Chang and Chiang Kwang-chao, was held on the night of November 2. Besides a capacity crowd inside the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, some 3 million people nationwide watched the ceremony live on television. As the emcees put it, the significance of the Golden Horse awards derives from gold's resistance to corrosion and the horse marching undauntedly forward. The ceremony provides a rare occasion for producers, film distributors and movie stars in the Mandarin movie business from within Taiwan and abroad to gather together once a year.

Before the winners were announced, Dr. Soong said that the sponsors, while making continuous progress, are upholding their traditional spirit of experiment to open up new vistas, and are dedicating themselves wholeheartedly to exploring new avenues for the Chinese film industry. He also said that through the encouragement of the participating movie workers, especially those traveling from afar, and through changes in the Kinma Awards ceremony, Mandarin films have been instilled with new vitality. During the three-hour presentation ceremony, five nominated musical pieces were sung to provide light relief.

Winners of the Kinma Awards were announced at the presentation ceremony by foreign and local movie stars. The announcement that "The Story of a Small Town" had won the Kinma Award for the best picture of the year was made by Elizabeth Taylor. The actress said shieh shieh (thank you) to the audience for their enthusiastic applause, and added that she was surprised she was so popular in Taiwan. Pointing out that she has been an actress since she was 10 years old, Miss Taylor said: "In those days I fantasized and through acting I made my dreams come true." Comparing politicians and actors, she said the only difference is that politicians "act in real life, while actors act in makebelieve."

James Mason's "performance" at the Kinma Awards was both polished and stimulating. He presented the award to the best director, King Hu, for the movie "Legend of the Mountain." Though well-known as a movie star, Mason regards himself first and foremost as a stage actor. "Movie stars may be said to be a kind of merchandise," he said, "but I think Elizabeth is not only a movie star but also a great actress." When asked if he would prefer to be an actor or a director if he could start his career again, Mason said: "I would want to be a director because he is the creative one and has the most fun."

John Philip Law, who has leading roles in "The Z Man," a movie being made as a joint production by Chinese and Australian film companies, and a Mandarin film "The Pioneers," presented the Kinma Award for the best dubbing to Ng Tai Kong for the movie "Legend of the Mountain." Law has learned several Chinese expressions while acting in Mandarin movies.

Ko Chun-hsiung, twice winner of the best actor award in Asian Film Festivals, won his first Golden Horse Award for best actor for his role in "A Teacher of Great Soldiers." The best actress award went to Joan Lin for her role in "The Story of a Small Town."

After all the winners were announced, three foreign guests were given engraved golden statuettes. " I'll put the statuette beside my two Oscars," Taylor said.

[Picture Caption]

1. The shining Golden Horse statuette. 2. Dr. James Soong, director-general of the Government Information Office, speaking at the presentation ceremony. 3. Taipei Municipal Children's Chorus singing a song entitled "Let's Smile, Friends." 4. Emcees Chiang Kwang-chao and Sylvia Chang. 5. A magnificent gathering of movie stars and workers.

Left: Ko Chun-hsiung receives the best actor award for his role in "A Teacher of Great Soldiers," from former best actress in Asia, Lee Ching; and right, the best actress award is presented to Joan Lin for her role in "The Story of a Small Town," by former best actor in Asia, Kuan Shan.

The best director, King Hu, receives the Kinma Award for his movie "Legend of the Mountain" from internationally renowned actor James Mason. King Hu told the audience how he and Mason once cooperated in a film, but were not paid because the producing company went bankrupt.

Elizabeth Taylor presents the Kinma Award for the best picture of the year, "The Story of a Small Town." Pai Ching-jui and Lee Hsing, codirectors of the winning movie gather with all the stars in the film in stepping onto the stage to receive the award.

(1) Best supporting actress, Shen Shih-hua, being presented with the Kinma Award for her outstanding performances in "Fly up with Love." (2) Veteran actress Wu Ching-hong presents the best supporting actor award to Han Sow (3) for his role in "Your Smiling Face," and (4) the best child actor, Ou Di.

1. Premier Sun's wife (second from left) presenting the engraved golden statuettes to Mr. and Mrs. James Mason. 2, 3, 4, Famous local actress Lin Po, Chang Chung-wen and Wu Ching-hong are invited to present the awards. 5,8 Elizabeth Taylor, 6, John Philip Law, and 7,9 James Mason.