First Line-up of 2026 Golden Horse Master Class Announced

BONG Joon-ho, MITANI Koki, Darren ARONOFSKY and Kyle BALDA Will Meet the Industry Professionals and the Audiences

The highly anticipated annual event in November – Golden Horse Master Class – has revealed its first heavyweight lineups of this year. This collaboration between Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee and The Bureau of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development (BAMID, Ministry of Culture), with the continuous generous support by PEGATRON Corporation, will bring renowned Korean director and Academy Awards winner BONG Joon-ho (Parasite), Japanese maestro of comedy MITANI Koki, Venice Golden Lion-winning director Darren ARONOFSKY and director of the global animation sensation Minions, Kyle BALDA, to share their expertise and vast knowledge on filmmaking. In addition to the in-depth sessions with industry professionals, the four directors also confirm their attendance to the post-screening talks with audiences for the screenings of The Host, Mother, University of Laughs, Black Swan and The Sheep Detectives. Registration to the Master Class will open on October 14^th with more lineup announcements on the same day.

   

BONG Joon-ho is expert in reinterpreting the elements of genre movies, and also good at delivering harsh criticism on society and precise insights on humanity with his sense of humor. He made his name with Memories of Murder, set the box office record with The Host, broke into the global market with Snowpiercer, and seized the Palme d’Or at Cannes, as well as four Academy Awards, including Best Motion Picture of the Year, with the phenomenal Parasite. For his first-ever official visit to Taiwan, BONG noted, with earnest expectations, “I am excited to roam the streets of Taipei graced by greats such as HOU Hsiao-hsien, Edward YANG, and TSAI Ming-liang, who were profound inspirations to me as a young film student. As a fellow traveler in the journey of Asian cinema, I hope the event will be full of joyful discoveries and meaningful connections”.

Japanese comedy maestro MITANI Koki is best known for his skillful, bantering scriptwriting. His directorial debut Welcome Back, Mr. McDonald has won him Best Screenplay for the Awards of The Japanese Academy. The following works – Suite Dreams, The Magic Hour, and A Ghost of a Chance – all made brilliant box offices. Upon accepting the invitation to partake in Golden Horse Master Class, MITANI noted, “I have made nine movies up to now, and still I have no clear answer on what movies really are. I keep making movies because it is always full of fun on site. And I have heard you calling from Taiwan. Wherever there are people calling, I will be there no matter how. Let’s enjoy a great time together at Golden Horse”.

Darren ARONOFSKY has his signature auteur touch on filmmaking. Right after his directorial debut Pi won the Directing Award at Sundance, ARONOFSKY stunned the world with the bold and daring Requiem for a Dream, followed by the Venice Golden Lion winner The Wrestler. His pioneering works also crowned Natalie PORTMAN (Black Swan) and Brendan FRASER (The Whale) Academy Awards in a Leading Role. 

Kyle BALDA has worked in the Animation Department of Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc. BALDA’s capabilities in developing captivating characters and imaginative layouts led to his directorial work Minions, which has created the phenomenal pop culture icon. BALDA’s film works have accumulated multi-billion global box offices, and the following live-action work The Sheep Detectives shows BALDA’s non-stopping explorations on visual narration possibilities.

In addition to their sessions with industry professionals at Golden Horse Master Class, the festival will also showcase their profound works, including BONG’s The Host and Mother, MITANI’s scriptwriting effort University of Laughs, ARONOFSKY’s Pi and Black Swan, and BALDA’s The Sheep Detectives. They will attend the post-screening talks to meet the audiences.

2026 Golden Horse Master Class and the Studio will take place between November 14^th and November 21^st at Event Space of Taipei New Horizon. The events will be available to filmmakers, professionals and students in filmmaking and related fields. Registration for the events will open at 1 P.M. (GMT +8) on October 14^th on the Events page of the festival’s official website. For more info, please check the official website, Facebook fan page, and Instagram.