The 59^th Golden Horse Awards Lifetime Achievement Award goes to renowned artists Lai Cheng-ying and Chang Chao-tang. Upon informing of the news, Lai expresses his surprise and joy as he dedicates this honor to the colleagues who worked with him over the decades. As the first recipient of this award from the documentary field, in addition to expressing his gratitude, Chang also wants to raise the awareness of the significance of documentaries.

The 59^th Golden Horse Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Lai Cheng-ying (Left, ©TFAI) and Chang Chao-tang (Right, ©TFAI, TIDF)

Lai Cheng-ying, 92 years old this year, is a significant cinematographer and director witnessing the history and development of Taiwan cinema. As the first generation of movie technicians cultivated by the Agricultural Education Motion Picture Company, the predecessor of Central Motion Picture Corporation, Lai was assigned to Japan to study color cinematography and film processing and brought back the latest techniques to Taiwan. In 1963, Our Neighbors marks the beginning of Lai’s long-term collaboration with director Lee Hsing. Lai has thus won three Golden Horse Awards for Best Cinematography three times with Beautiful Duckling, Stardust and Execution in Autumn.

Lai turned to directing after 1975. His directorial debut Revenge of Two Exorcists is also Hou Hsiao-hsien’s first time as the writer and deputy director. Lai also directed The War of the Sexes, first film script written by Li Yuan. In addition to ancient folklore and screwball comedy, Lai’s love tragedies are also favored, like The Glory of the Sunset, A Sorrowful Wedding and Lotus in Fall. The Glory of the Sunset also grabbed a nomination for Best Leading Actress Chen Chen at the Golden Horse Awards. Lai has directed sixteen movies and has over sixty movies under his belt as the cinematographer. His long-term dedication to filmmaking and his contribution to the Taiwan cinema can’t be overemphasized.

The 59th Golden Horse Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Lai Cheng-ying (Left, ©TFAI) and Chang Chao-tang (Right)

79-year-old Chang Chao-tang has brought a profound, diverse and comprehensive influence on Taiwan arts. Not only is he a reputable photographer, he is also the pioneer of Taiwan experimental films. In addition to serving as cinematographer for feature films, Chang has long dedicated himself to making documentary and to visual art education, to broaden the horizon of the successors in an extensive way. He also greatly influences succeeding creators like Chung Mong-hong, Christopher Doyle, Yang Li-chou, Tsai Tsung-lung, Huang Hsin-yao and Wu Yao-tung, etc.

Chang Chao-tang’s works like Face in Motion, The Boat Burning Festival and The Journey of Images are classics of Taiwan experimental cinema and documentary, he also won the Golden Horse Awards of Best Documentary and Best Cinematography for Documentary with The Old House. His noted works as cinematographer for feature films include China Behind, The Woman of Wrath, Tang Dynasty Beautiful Male and Last Train to Tan Shui. Chang has devoted himself to the education of visual arts for decades, especially for the talents of documentary. He is also one of the main promoters for Taiwan International Documentary Festival, and wishes to share the glory with all the documentary workers.

The 59^th Golden Horse Awards Ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 19^th at the National Dr. Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei. For more information please check the Golden Horse official website.