For workers in the Taiwan film industry, this year's Golden Horse Awards were an unaccustomedly bitter pill to swallow.

Since their creation in 1962, the awards have become the highest honor, bar none, in Chinese films, and the charging golden horse has become the object of common pursuit of everyone in the industry.

At this year's ceremony the stars were as lustrous as ever; the difference was that most of the nominees came from Hong Kong.

As the winners in each category were announced, the results were hardly surprising: Hong Kong films and performers swept the scene. Most of the eighteen awards went to Hong Kong, seven of them to the movie Painted Faces. The award for best actor was won by Alex Man and that for best actress by Cheng Yu-ling, both from Hong Kong.

"Couldn't it be that times change," some people wondered, "that this year it just happened to be Hong Kong's turn?" They thought back to the days when Hong Kong had simply sent a group to the awards to "observe," when they really had nothing to enter at all.

"Real heroes don't dwell on their exploits of the past," the proverb says, and the lamentable condition of the local film industry can no longer be ignored. In his opening remarks at the ceremony Dr. Shaw Yu-ming, director general of the Government Information Office, likened the industry's poor performance to the stock market's "black streak" in October.

For some time now the contents, direction, equipment, production, distribution, advertising, packaging, and even theater management of local films have all had their weak spots. And the two most salient characteristics of the medium--artistry and commercialism--have gone their separate ways. "A success with the critics and at the box-office" has become almost a contradiction in terms.

For the past several years, the newly arising media of home videos and MTV (meaning videos rented to small groups for viewing on the premises) have posed a grave threat to the development of the local film industry. Not only has the quantity of films declined but, because of a shortage of capital, so has their quality and standard. It has created a vicious cycle.

Is the talent really not there?

As we all know, Taiwan films have been well reviewed overseas, and their audience is not limited to people of Chinese ancestry. The local film industry is actually not a hopeless case--what it needs are diligent operation and well-intentioned encouragement.

This July the Government Information Office instituted a program to guide the film industry and allocated NT$30,000,000 in the hope of reviving its vitality. The medicine will no doubt do the patient good. But its greatest goal is to serve as a catalyst.

The theme of this year's Golden Horse Awards was "The Chinese Film Industry Rises Again." When we look back at the awards again at this time next year, may these words have become a fact and not just a slogan!

[Picture Caption]

Hong Kong film stars Alex Man and Cheng Yu-lin captured this year's awards as best actor and actress.

Shaw Yu-ming, director general of the Government Information Office, exchanges pleasantries at a reception with Lauren Bacall, who flew to Taiwan to attend the ceremony.

The movie Painted Faces lived up to expectations by bagging seven awards.

Hong Kong film stars Hsia Wen-hsi and Ts'en Chien-hsun were invited to present the awards.

Big Lily and Little Lily, winners of a Golden Dragon award a few weeks earlier for best singers, performed at the ceremony.

Co-hosts Sylvia Chang and T'ao Ta-wei.

The winners became the focus of all eyes as soon as their names were announced.

Shaw Yu-ming, director general of the Government Information Office, exchanges pleasantries at a reception with Lauren Bacall, who flew to Taiwan to attend the ceremony.

The movie Painted Faces lived up to expectations by bagging seven awards.

Hong Kong film stars Hsia Wen-hsi and Ts'en Chien-hsun were invited to present the awards.

Big Lily and Little Lily, winners of a Golden Dragon award a few weeks earlier for best singers, performed at the ceremony.

Co-hosts Sylvia Chang and T'ao Ta-wei.

The winners became the focus of all eyes as soon as their names were announced.