The 2022 Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (FPP) today (9/23) announced its annual list of selected projects. This year, there are 48 outstanding film project selections, of which 40 are brand new projects and 8 are work-in-progress projects currently in production but still seeking funding or other collaboration opportunities. Together with the 20 series project selections announced earlier, this year’s Golden Horse FPP will be showcasing a total of 68 promising film and series projects, once again setting a new record high.

This year boasts a strong lineup of selected projects. In Amah’s Miseries, CHONG Keat-aun, director of The Story of Southern Islet, collects the memories of Malaysia’s “ma jie” (amah); Sweet Man is a hip hop musical that once again brings together HSU Chih-yen and Mag HSU, the duo behind the award-winning Dear Ex; Let’s Hit the Road is CHANG Jung-chi’s adaptation of the classic Taiwanese documentary Go Grandriders!; Racing Storm is a story about the restless youth of drag racing teens directed by LIN Yu-hsien of Jump! Boys; The Photograph from 1977, directed by KAO Pin-chuan, depicts a cross-culture romance between a Korean student and a talented photographer, who accidentally plunge into a life-changing democracy firestorm; and Doubles Match is the inspirational journey of a table tennis player, executive produced by The Soul’s David TANG and directed by Dad’s Suit filmmaker HUNG Po-hao.

Filmmakers from Hong Kong also made their mark on this year’s list of selections. Until We Meet at Dawn will be co-directed by Will OR, a Best Supporting Actor nominee at the last Golden Horse Awards, along with Jane LEUNG, and executive produced by renowned filmmaker Stanley KWAN; King of Scam, which explores Taiwan’s scam artists, will be written and directed by Hong Kong star Chapman TO; SOS, which focuses on child suicide, will be directed by Revolution of Our Times filmmaker Kiwi CHOW; The Unshakable Destiny, to be directed by Rex REN, filmmaker of May You Stay Forever Young, is a tribute to journalists who defend freedom of the press; In the Middle of Nowhere is a reflection of Jevons AU Man-kit’s care for the Hong Kong diaspora; and Pretty Wealthy, which reunites Kate REILLY and LEUNG Ming-kai, the co-directors of Memories to Choke On, Drinks to Wash Them Down, explores social issues through the guise of romance.

This year’s projects in the crime thriller genre are full of fresh ideas. The Missing, directed by The Rope Curse’s LIAO Shih-han, is based on a real-life case; Money on Fire is a crime caper comedy helmed by director Lester HSI; Ray JIANG, director of Gatao - The Last Stray, once again returns to the gangster genre with Bright & Dark; in Housing, LIU Bang-yao uses a stigmatized property to question and reflect on housing justice; Gods and Monsters, a story of double-crossing criminals, is written and executive produced by A Leg director CHANG Yao-sheng and directed by CHEN Yan-hong; Golden Bell Awards-winning screenwriter Ray WU’s The Invisible Love Nest depicts a midlife marriage crisis; and Skin in the Game is a thriller co-directed by renowned author Jade Y. CHEN and Best Visual Effects Oscar-winner Anthony LAMOLINARA.

There are also many moving film projects depicting family and love. Someday, executive produced by WU Nien-jen and directed by CHUANG Yung-hsin, is based on the heart-wrenching experiences of a brain damage patient’s family in the aftermath of his car accident; in Moon Spoon, winner of the Excellent Screenplay Awards, a middle-aged spirit medium falls in love with a married woman; In Thy Maiden Name, directed by OftenDo HUANG, is a fantasy comedy that debates the root cause behind the sense of deprivation that marriage brings to women; KUO Chen-ti’s Love Before Sunrise chronicles the love and desires of legendary writer Nao WENG; while Cathy by The Painting of Evil’s CHEN Yung-chi and Time Loop With the Moon by Angel TENG I-han are both romantic comedies with fantasy elements.

International co-productions and foreign directors bring their diverse vision to this year’s selections. Japanese director IKEDA Akira is bringing the strange tale of Haru and Tae; ROBOT COMMUNICATIONS INC., the production company behind the topical series Alice in Borderland, is teaming up with director MAKABE Yukinori to deliver Sense of Loss; Arvin CHEN’s Counter Moves is a remake of a true love story spanning Taiwan and North Korea; Sayang is veteran sound recordist and documentary filmmaker TANG Hsiang-chu’s first narrative feature; Malice, directed by Ohong Village filmmaker LIM Lung-yin, assembles talents from Taiwan, Malaysia and the Czech Republic; No Where, by box-office-topping director CHIU Keng-guan, explores the mother-daughter relationship; Xisi Sofia YE CHEN’s From Dawn to Dawn delves into the Chinese mafia in Spain; and YANG Mei-wen’s Toby documents the son of a British film family’s obsession with kung fu movies.

Many new directors are also taking on the challenge of their first feature-length film. Former Golden Horse Best Animated Short Film winner HUANG Yun-hsien is working on her first feature-length animation, Angie, What’s Wrong?; ZHANG Zhi-teng, whose short film Good Day swept through various major film festivals is directing his new fantasy feature, Karma Tango; executive produced by HSIAO Ya-chuan and directed by LU Po-shun, Will You Be My Friend is an adaptation of the short film of the same name; PAN Ke-yin, who earned a Golden Horse Awards nomination for the short my sister, is directing Family Matters, which will be executive produced by CHENG Yu-chieh; WANG Yi-ling, director of Do Not Go Gentle in Taipei, is taking on the road movie genre with Running Wild; executive produced by Incantation’s Push YANG and directed by Dicky CHALMERS, Cold is all about exposing fake psychics; and again with mountain forests as the background, A Plague of Looters is an allegorical fantasy by CHANG Jing-ye.

The WIP section, which provides investor matching and assistance for films currently shooting or in post-production, has been generating impressive results. Blue Island, Coo-Coo 043, For My Country and Nine Shots are just some of the former projects that have been released this year alone. This year’s highly anticipated selections include A Cantopop Lyricist To-be, an adaptation of her own work by WONG Yee-lam, director of My Prince Edward; Smartfone, a reflection on smartphone addiction by Amos WHY, director of Far Far Away; Franklin, which brings together four up-and-coming Asian directors and stars Anthony WONG Chau-sang, with actress Teresa DALEY as a co-writer; Future Shock, SU Hui-yu’s feature version of the short film that won him the Special Jury Prize at the Golden Harvest Awards; and Who’ll Stop the Rain, the debut feature of promising new director SU I-hsuan. There are also three WIP documentary selections: Music that Shakes the World, director LIN Chen-sheng’s take on the career of legendary Taiwanese folk musician CHEN Ming-chang; Our Second Home, Frankie SIN’s observations on how Hong Kong has changed from the perspective of a small store; and Qingshui River, LI Shang-shan’s exploration of the memories of the eponymous tributary.

The 2022 Golden Horse FPP will take place from November 15 to 17, with the list of winners announced at the awards ceremony on November 17.