Chinese director Lou Ye's drama "Blind Massage" and Chinese actor Chen Jianbin emerged as the biggest winners at this year’s Golden Horse Awards in Taipei on Saturday.
The Chinese-French film "Blind Massage" entered the competition with seven nominations, resulting in six wins. Those included prizes for best feature film, best adapted screenplay, best film editing, best cinematography, best sound effects and best new performer. It lost only in the category of best director, which went to Hong Kong's Ann Hui, for her film “The Golden Era.”
"Blind Massage," was adapted from a novel of the same name by Bi Feiyu. It chronicles the love, desires and frustrations of a group of visually impaired massage therapists in Nanjing, China. The film has been praised for its cinematography and intimate portrayal of life in the shadows. It won the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at this year's Berlin International Film Festival and was one of the contenders for the Golden Bear, the festival's top prize.
The other big winner of the night was Chen Jianbin, who rewrote Golden Horse history by becoming the first person to win best actor, best supporting actor, and best new director all on the same night.
The 44-year-old went into the competition with a total of five nominations. He won the best actor and best new director awards for his directorial debut – a movie called “A Fool”. It’s the story of a Chinese farmer who finds a homeless man on his way home from town one day. The farmer, played by Chen, helps the man find his family, only to be accused of human trafficking by another group of people claiming to be the homeless man’s relatives.
Meanwhile, the Golden Horse for best actress went Chen Shiang-chyi for her role in the drama "Exit." She was the only Taiwanese nominee to secure a major award in this year's ceremony.
Click here for the official list of all the Golden Horse winners for 2014.