The controversy surrounding the Golden Horse Awards continues. Earlier in August, the China Film Administration pulled back all there participants from taking part up this year's award. Recently, filmmakers based in Hong Kong have announced that they won't be taking part in the event as well. Hong Kong director Johnnie To, who originally was going to serve as the chair of this year's jury, has resigned from the position. Following the shocking announcement, the Golden Horse Film Festival Committee asked award-winning Taiwanese director Wang Toon to take over the position.


"The White Storm 2 - Drug Lords", featuring Andy Lau and Louis Koo, was well received in Taiwan when it was released earlier this summer. However, the film won't be taking part in this year's Golden Horse Awards. It is one of the four Hong Kong movies that declined to take part in the award. The other three are "Line Walker 2: Invisible Spy", "Chasing the Dragon 2" and "No.7 Cherry Lane".

Another gloom continues to surround the upcoming award ceremony. The awards' executive committee dropped a bombshell and announced that Hong Kong director Johnnie To, who was originally going to serve as the chair of the jury, has resigned from his position citing fulfilling his contractual obligations. Ang Lee, the chairperson of the award, has asked Taiwanese director Wang Toon to take over the position.

Maybe it was Ang Lee who asked (literary critic) Wen Tien-hsiang to ask me (to take up the position). I said okay. We're good friends and we've served as head of jury. If they asked me to take up the position, I'll do it. I don't care about the rest.

Wang Toon's movies have won several Golden Horse Awards, he himself has received a Lifetime Achievement Award. Upon Ang Lee's request, Wang has taken up the position as the head of jury after Hong Kong director Johnnie To resigned. After the China Film Administration announced that all Chinese movies and filmmakers will not be taking part in this year's award, the production companies in Hong Kong followed suit and pulled out of the event. "Taoism of Youth", the only Chinese documentary that was going to take part at the award, was also pulled from the event after the director withdraw his previous remark and declined to take part. Some scholars believes that it's unfortunate that the stalling cross-strait relations have affected people outside politics.

Maybe politics have affected the decision. After China declined to send its films (to the Golden Horse Awards), the public in Taiwan won't get a chance to see those movies. It's a real pity.

The Golden Horse Awards will continue to open its doors to filmmakers from around the world.

The nominees for the 56th Golden Horse Awards will be announced in October, and the award ceremony will be held in November. The latest development means that no Chinese film will take part in the event and talents from both sides of the Taiwan Strait won't get a chance to exchange ideas at the ceremony.



港星劉德華攜手古天樂主演的電影掃毒2，暑假在台上映開出紅盤，卻無緣角逐金馬獎，不僅如此，連同使徒行者2、追龍2以及繼園台7號在內等4部港片，傳出原本已經報名金馬獎，相繼放棄參賽。第56屆金馬獎命運多舛，金馬執委會更拋出震撼彈，原本擔任評審團主席的香港導演杜琪峯，卻以與電影投資方的製作合約所限為由，宣布請辭，金馬獎主席李安趕緊找來台灣導演王童救火。

金馬獎評審團主席 王童表示：「可能李安請聞天祥打電話給我，我說好啊，好啊，好朋友嘛，大家都做過主席，請我做評審團主席我就做，其他我就不管了。」

導演王童個人和執導的電影共囊括七座金馬獎，同時也是本屆終身成就獎得主，這次杜琪峯中途請辭評審團主席，王童則為李安鼎力相助，不過，今年金馬捲入政治風波，在中國國家電影局宣布中國的影片及人員暫停參加金馬獎後，連帶影響香港多家電影公司，紛紛表態跟進不參加，連原本唯一公開表態參賽的中國紀錄片「少年問道」，導演也臨時改口退賽，對此，有學者認為兩岸政府就像大人吵架，卻波及周遭的親朋好友。

世新大學廣電系教授 蔡念中表示：「可能啦，是因為政治的因素，所以大陸片面的把參賽的機會，就把它給斷絕了，那我們也，台灣的民眾，也就沒辦法能夠看到大陸那些作品，這是真的一個很遺憾的事件。」

文化部影視及流行音樂發展司長 曾金滿表示：「未來台灣金馬獎將持續敞開大門，歡迎世界各地的電影工作者。」

第56屆金馬獎入圍名單將於10月公布，11月舉行頒獎典禮，如今卻波折不斷，中國電影今年參賽件數確定掛零，兩岸人才也無緣在金馬電影盛會交流。