Classmates Minus director Huang Hsin-Yao was previously submitted to the Oscars by Taiwan in 2018 for The Great Buddha+ Fruit Chan, whose film Made in Hong Kong was submitted by Hong Kong to the Oscars in 1998, is the only Best Director nominee this year whose film ( The Abortionist) didn't place in Best Film. Tsai Ming-liang is the most famous, internationally speaking, among these directors though his film Days was not a frontrunner for these prizes as it only received 1 nomination beyond the Film/Director categories. The Abortionist (Hong Kong) - Fruit Chan.
For their submission in 2021, they'll have to pick something that opens after January 1st, 2021 so it won't be any of these titles.
That's particularly true this year with the schedule very messy. Golden Horse eligibility typically runs early fall to late summer so it doesn't line up exactly with Oscars or submission calendars. Taiwan's current Oscar submission A Sun (streaming on Netflix) was the big winner last year about this time. My Missing Valentine (Taiwan) - a romantic comedy about a lonely postal worker ★.Hand Rolled Cigarette (Hong Kong) - a friendship develops between a retired British Chinese soldier and a young South Asian man he takes in after they both end up in trouble with a local crime boss.Dear Tenant (Taiwan) - another gay drama about a man who is accused of murdering the mother of his deceased boyfriend after she leaves him the house in her will.Days (Taiwan) -about a sexual affair between two older men from the reknowned Tsai Ming-liang which we reviewed at AFI.Streaming on Netflix beginning February 20th Classmates Minus (Taiwan) -follows four adults who were once high school friends.This year three gay dramas did well (one of them is on Netflix) but it was a romantic comedy that won. For the past two years, however, due to political tension and a boycott from China we're seeing less of that and it's becoming more centered on Taiwanese movies.
We missed sharing Taipei's Golden Horse Awards this year as they happened right before Thanksgiving and we were otherwise occupied! Past lineups have had films from Singapore, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and more competing for the top prize.