Editor

The 2010 Golden Horse International Film Festival has begun! From 4th November onwards, more than 200 films divided into 9 strands will be screened in the following three weeks. We are proud to present such a film feast to the Taiwanese cineastes. Juliets, the opening film, is a project that took Director Khan Lee four years to make. Juliets is composed of three love stories set in three different times directed by three directors including Hou Chi-Jan (One Day), Shen Ko-Shang (Baseball Boys) and Chen Yu-Hsun (Tropical Fish).

The first segment, Juliet's Choice, directed by Hou Chi-Jan starring Vivian Hsu and Wang Po-Chieh. The story takes place in the Taiwan's martial law era. Vivian Hsu plays a young girl who suffered from polio which left her a bad leg. She works in her family-run printing shop and one day, she falls in love with a university student (played by Wang Po-Chieh) who brings a banned article to the shop. The film is told in the non-linear narrative, the trademark of Hou Chi-Jan. This is the first time that Vivian Hsu, a beautiful young actress, plays a disabled girl who has low self-esteem. Wang (Winds of September, Bodyguards and Assassins) expressed that he felt so nervous in his first collaboration with Vivian that he didn't dare to look straight into her eyes. There is a scene in which he carries Vivian on his back as he chases after the bus. He was so worried that Vivian might get hurt during the shooting. The take was finally done after quite a few rehearsals. Wang is very glad that Director Hou gave him the chance to challenge a very different character.

Two Juliets is the second segment directed by Shen Ko-Shang. It tells a story of a daughter of the owner of a dancing troupe who falls in love with the son of a budaixi (Taiwanese glove puppetry) master. As the film is set in the 1980s, the crew eventually found the ideal location in Beigan, Matsu (a small town in Matsu Island) after scouting all over Taiwan. Director Shen joked that it was an ideal location in the sense that the actors and crew could not escape from the shooting unless they hired a boat. Lee Chien-Na, the lead actress, played the ‘ two Juliets' and her brilliant performance won her the nomination in Best New Performer at the Golden Horse Awards. At first Director Shen was a little concerned as Lee had no acting experience however as soon as he saw her first act on the set he knew he had definitely found the right actress. Chien-Na Lee expressed her surprise at being nominated at the Golden Horse Awards and said she still couldn't believe it was true. All the directors and crew members present wished her to win the award. The lead actor of this segment, the Golden Bell Award-winning actor, River Huang, also delivered his best performance as a young passionate lover. Huang said that he was so impressed by the beautiful scenery in Beigan that he hoped one day he could take his family there for holiday.

The last segment, Middle-Aged Juliet, starred Kang Kang and Liang He-Chun, is a bitter-sweet comedy about love, a film that brings hopes to its audiences. This is the first film that Director Chen made after having worked in advertising for years. He told us that it was Producer Lee's persistent request that persuaded him to make a comeback in film. Despite the original melodramatic theme set for the triptych, Chen decided to portray the happiness and sadness of a marginalised character. Chen felt that Kang Kang was the perfect choice for the eccentric lead character who, after 28 unrequited loves, decided to end his life. Despite everyone joked that Kang Kang was the ugliest ‘Juliet', Chen lavishly praised his performance in the film. Meanwhile, Kang Kang desperately tried to clarify his sexuality by announcing his upcoming wedding as his convincing performance as a forlorn middle-aged gay had roused doubts even in his parents' minds. Nevertheless Kang Kang kept thanking Chen for ‘spotting his potential' and giving him a chance to demonstrate his ‘acting talent'.

In addition to the directors and actors of the opening film, the actors of When Love Comes, such as Lu Xue-Feng, He Zi-hua, Gao Meng-Jie who is nominated in Best Supporting Actor and Li Yi-Jie who is nominated in Best New Performer were there on the red carpet. Moreover, the directors and the cast of 7 Days in Heaven including Wang Yu-Lin, Essay Liu, Wu Peng-Fon, a nominee for Best Supporting Actor and Cheung Si-Yin, a nominee for Best Supporting Actress were also there at the opening ceremony. Vivian Hsu who had an extremely tight schedule was determined to attend the opening to show her solidarity and support for Juliets.

MOET & CHANDON is the official champagne of 2010 Golden Horse International Film Festival. They presented a special bottle of champagne with the names of the three directors engraved on it. The climax of the opening ceremony came when the directors shared the champagne with the guests and drank a toast to the success of the 2010 Golden Horse Film Festival. A marquee was set up in the Breeze Plaza with a buffet catered by PALAIS de CHINE HOTEL and the delicious food won unanimous praise from everyone. LANCOME, the official cosmetics sponsor, provided the first-class make-up for all our guests. In addition, we would like to thank EROS for making all our guests even more glamorous.

2010 Golden Horse International Film Festival runs from 4th to 18th November. The films are screened in Shin Kong Cineplex, Ambassador Theatres@Breeze Centre and Ambassador Theatres@Spring Centre. A retrospective of Eric Rohmer will take place between 19th and 25th Nov. in the same venues. To find out more details about the festival, please go to our official website http:/www.goldenhorse.org.tw