The Golden Horse Awards was founded in 1962 to promote Taiwanese film production and recognize excellent Taiwanese films and outstanding filmmakers. The name "Golden Horse" is derived from the names of the two outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu.

As the most prominent annual film festival in Taiwan, the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (TGHFF) comprises two parts. The Golden Horse Awards Competition aims at encouraging the development of Chinese-language films. The international programme is intended to introduce excellent films from around the world to Taiwanese audiences , in order to stimulate exchange of ideas and inspire creativity.

The Executive Committee

In 1990, the organization of the 27th Golden Horse Awards Competition was transferred from the Government Information Office to the Motion Picture Development Foundation R.O.C. , and TGHFF Executive Committee was established under its authority. The Committee consists of nine to fifteen film scholars and filmmakers on the executive board, including the Chairman and General Director. There are four departments under the Committee: an administration department for internal administrative affairs, guest hospitality and cross-industry collaboration; a marketing department responsible for event planning and promotion, press coordination, advertising and publications; a competition department in charge of the Chinese-language film competition and awards ceremony; and a festival department devoted to festival planning, selection of films and invitation of filmmakers, subtitle translation and production, as well as all on-site arrangements during the festival.

The Golden Horse Awards

Since its inception, the Golden Horse Awards has honored many excellent Chinese-language films and outstanding filmmakers, and the award itself has become a signal honour in the Chinese-language film industry and has made considerable contributions to the industry's development in many ways. The historic significance and importance of the Golden Horse Awards remain unchallenged to this day.

Since the first Golden Horse Awards in 1962, the competition has been held forty-five times. From the first to the 14th competition, the winners were announced prior to the awards ceremony. Starting from the 15th competition, the winners are announced during the ceremony.

There are twenty-three award categories, for which all the winners are selected by the jury. Film awards include Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, and Best Animation Feature. Awards for individuals include Best Director, Best Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best New Performer, Best Original Screenplay, Best Screenplay Adaptation, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Effects, Best Action Choreography, Best Visual Effects, Best Original Film Score, Best Original Film Song, Best Art Direction, Best Make-up & Costume Design. Special rewards are Best Taiwanese Film of the Year and Best Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year.

Apart from the jury’s selections, there are also two non-competition awards, the Audience Choice Award and the FIPRESCI Prize.

In recent years, the number of films submitted for competition per year invariably exceeds one hundred.

The Juries

The Golden Horse Awards Jury comprises professionals from various fields across the film industry, including directors, scriptwriters, film critics, art directors, actors/actresses, and film editors. Alumni include famed filmmakers such as HOU Hsiao-Hsien, KO Yi-Cheng, CHEN Kun-Ho, HSU Feng, WANG Tung, KUEI Ya-Lei, Mabel CHEUNG, and Elaine JIN. From 2002, international filmmakers are invited to join the final judging panel: 2002--Isao YUKISADA (Japanese Director) and KIM Hong-Jun (Korean Director); 2003--Monika TREUT (German Director), Jayne PILLING, Sozo TERUOKA (Tokyo International Film festival “Wind of Asia” Programming Director); 2004--Yoichi HIGASHI (Japanese Director); 2005--KWAK Jae-Yong (Korean Director) and Kaizo HAYASHI (Japanese Director); 2006--KIM Sung-Su (Korean Director) and Takayoshi WATANABE (Japanese Director); 2007--Hubert NIOGRET (Director/film critic) and XIE Fei (Chinese Director); 2008--Kenichi OKUBO (Senior Film Critic).

Special Awards

Each year the Golden Horse Awards calls for recommendations from professional organizations within the film industry for Special Award candidates. The TGHFF Executive Committee will review all candidates and present a Special Award to commend his/her remarkable contribution to the film industry. Past Special Award recipients include HSU Li-Kong (Outstanding Producer), Jet LI (Mainland Filmmaker Special), LEE Hsing (Honorary Award), LANG Hsiung (Honorary Award), Edward YANG (Honorary Award), CHANG Feng (Honorary Award), and HUANG Jen (Special Contribution).

The Ceremony

The highlight of the festival, the Golden Horse Awards Ceremony, is held at the end of each year, bringing together all the significant figures in the Chinese-language film industry. Many eminent filmmakers who have made indispensable contributions to the Chinese-language film industry, such as LEE Hsing, King HU, LI Han-Hsiang, BAI Ching-Zue, HOU Hsiao-Hsien, Edward YANG, Ang LEE, TSAI Ming-Liang, John WOO, Ann HUI, TSUI Hark, WONG Kar- Wai, Brigitte LIN, CHOW Yun-Fat, Tony LEUNG, and Andy LAU, have been honored already. Maggie CHEUNG has set an unsurpassed record of winning five awards out of six nominations. Many world famous filmmakers and stars, such as Elizabeth TAYLOR, Alain DELON, Robert WISE, Charles BRONSON, Sigourney WEAVER, Vincent PEREZ, Makiko ESUMI, Rie MIYAZAWA, CHOU Ji Woo, and JIN Yun Zhe, were also invited as special guests to present the awards during the ceremony.

TGHFF International Programme

Starting in 1980, the TGHFF began inviting films from all around the world to be shown in the festival. Over the years, the “Director In Focus” programme has introduced prestigious filmmakers including François TRUFFAUT, Alain RESNAIS, Ingmar BERGMAN, New German Cinema directors, etc. to the Taiwanese audience. With the establishment of the permanent organization of the TGHFF Executive Committee in 1990, the TGHFF has come to serve as an exchange platform for Taiwanese and global filmmakers while building its presence as a leading non-competitive international film festival. In recent decades, the TGHFF has broadened the scope of the Taiwanese audience by introducing masterpieces of renowned filmmakers such as Pedro ALMODOVAR, Kon ICHIKAWA, Jean-Pierre MELVILLE, Nagisa OSHIMA, Abbas KIAROSTAMI, Atom EGOYAN, Krzysztof KIESLOWSKI, and Takeshi KITANO.

The Filmmakers

The opportunity to interact with prominent filmmakers in person, made possible by their attendance at the film festival, is a long-standing goal of the TGHFF. Over the years, the TGHFF has succeeded in inviting many internationally renowned filmmakers to attend this event, such as Nagisa OSHIMA in 1992, Abbas KIAROSTAMI, Hal HARTLEY, and Olivier ASSAYAS in 1993, Theodoros ANGELOPOULOS in 1995, François OZON and Kiyoshi KUROSAWA in 1999, TRAN Anh Hung and Hideaki ANNO in 2000, Claire DENIS and Jean-Jacques BEINEIX in 2001, Krzysztof ZANUSSI and KIM Ki-Duk in 2002, Godfrey REGGIO, Khyentse NORBU, and Junji SAKAMOTO in 2003, Shunji IWAI and August DIEHLAND in 2004, Tadanobu ASANO, Seijun SUZUKI, and Shane WALTER in 2005, Tetsuya NAKASHIMA, Miki NAKATANI, and Yousuki KUBOZUKA in 2006, Cristian MUNGIU in 2007, and Laurent CANTET in 2008. Brought together by the TGHFF, filmmakers from all over the world are thus able to exchange ideas with the Taiwanese filmmakers and audience, thereby stimulating creative energy and cultural understanding.

The Events

TGHFF plans a series of peripheral activities along with the main festival to attract attention from the audience and media, creating a lively festive ambiance. In 2000, the TGHFF opened with a concert of classic film songs performed by WU Bai and Renee LIU, as well as an energetic RAVE PARTY hosted by LIM Giong, Fluid Workshop and famous DJs from Taiwan and abroad. In 2001, the TGHFF began hosting several forums and lectures, inviting renowned filmmakers, critics, and writers to guide the audience through the festival. The audience has therefore been able to get insight into the festival through the eyes of HOU Hsiao-Hsien, Hung Hung, WANG Wen-Hua, Lucille HAN, Vista CHENG, CHIANG Hsun, Kevin TSAI, and WEN Tien-Hsiang. In recent years, the audience has even had the opportunity to interact directly with the leading international directors, such as Cristian MUNGIU, Yasmin AHMAD, and Shunji IWAI, through the Director Lectures. This year again the TGHFF is eager to fulfill its mission and enrich the festival. In addition to the roster of exciting films awaiting discovery, there will also be a wide array of film-related activities that will catch not only your eyes but your heart as well.