2025 TGHFF Opens with World Premiere of A Foggy Tale by Chen Yu-hsun

Hidetoshi Nishijima Co-Starred Gwei Lun-mei in Closing Film Dear Stranger by Tetsuya Mariko

2025 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival will kick off on November 6^th and today (September 3^rd) the Committee announced this year’s opening and closing films. The festival will open with A Foggy Tale, the latest work directed by multi-Golden-Horse-Awards-winner CHEN Yu-hsun (My Missing Valentine) and it will be the world premiere along with the appearances of CHEN Yu-hsun and the actors -- Caitlin FANG, Will OR, 9m88 and TSENG Jing-hua. The closing film Dear Stranger is a suspenseful collaboration between Japanese director Tetsuya MARIKO with award-winning actors Hidetoshi NISHIJIMA and GWEI Lun-mei. The three filmmakers have also confirmed attendance to the festival for the post-screening Q&A session. Moreover, the festival has organized a presentation of NISHIJIMA’s previous works, including License to Live (1998), CUT (2011) and Drive My Car (2021) for a showcase of his powerful yet diverse performances over the decades.

After the big win of My Missing Valentine at Golden Horse Awards, including Best Narrative Feature, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, director/screenwriter CHEN Yu-hsun’s effort for years -- A Foggy Tale -- will finally have its world premiere at the Golden Horse. With a backdrop in the era of White Terror in Taiwan, the film follows a girl from Chiayi on her journey to the north to retrieve the remains of her brother. CHEN’s grassroots humor brings out laughter in tears, with a gentle touch on the ambiguous thin line between good and evil, sadness and happiness of human nature and of the times. The fresh, exciting cast of Caitlin FANG (American Girl) and Will OR (Drifting) along with 9m88 and TSENG Jing-hua, also guarantees a brilliant performance on screen.

Having A Foggy Tale to open the festival, CHEN Yu-hsun recalls, “when I was a little boy, I was always thrilled to see the opening of department stores, where everything seemed so bright and cheerful. And that becomes a little wish for me. Now my dreams have come true to have my film opening the Golden Horse Film Festival, I’m deeply happy and truly honored”. Executive producer YEH Jufeng sentimentally remarks that this story is their reminiscence and review of that era, as well as their firm belief in genuine friendship and human nature; executive producer LEE Lieh said that they would not dare to boast about being the very best, but they rigidly believe in this film and hope this genuineness and sincerity will be delivered to every viewer. Together they especially shout out and thank the cast and the crew who work wholeheartedly against all odds.

Director Tetsuya MARIKO is no stranger to Golden Horse Film Festival with his Destruction Babies and Miyamoto both wowed the audiences and he is also impressed by both visits to Taiwan. In his latest work Dear Stranger, he has Hidetoshi NISHIJIMA and GWEI Lun-mei as a married couple living in New York, whose seemingly carefree happy life takes a U-turn after their son was kidnapped. Their hidden past and the suppressed inner world also gradually reveal itself. Through the trivial incidents, the film unveils the personal solitude, family shackles and racial isolation of an immigrant family in the cultural melting pot of the States. MARIKO expressed his deep gratitude for having Dear Stranger to close the festival and he looks forward to watching it on the big screen with local audiences. Leading actress GWEI noted, “I’m truly grateful to participate in this film. It leads me back to the starting point of acting and opens a new door to artistic creation for me. I appreciate Golden Horse for inviting this film, and I am honored to share it with you, hoping that it will accompany and resonate with you to move on in the next journey of your life.”

Golden Horse Film Festival is also thrilled to meet the cinephiles’ eager anticipation to confirm the attendance of renowned actor Hidetoshi NISHIJIMA. In addition to the closing film, the festival will screen his early work with Kiyoshi KUROSAWA, License to Live, which earned him Best Actor at Japanese Professional Movie Awards; the work with Iranian director Amir NADERI, CUT, of an uncompromising young filmmaker who envisions his cinematic dream with boxing; and Academy Awards Best International Feature Film, Drive My Car, by Ryusuke HAMAGUCHI, which won NISHIJIMA Best Actor Awards at National Society of Film Critics’ Awards and Japan Academy Film Prize. NISHIJIMA conveys his thanks for being selected this year’s Filmmaker-in-Focus and his delight for having Dear Stranger, an unforgettable wonderful collaboration with GWEI Lun-mei, to close the festival. He is also looking forward to finally meeting the audience in Taiwan at Golden Horse Film Festival this November.

2025 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival will take place between November 6^th and 23^rd. Audiences’ Guide to the Festival will be held in the afternoon of Friday, October 24^th at Taipei New Horizon; tickets will be on sale on Sunday, October 26^th. For more info and updates, please stay tuned on the Golden Horse official website, Facebook fan page, Instagram or download the Golden Horse APP.