Huang Hsin-yao, the director of the 5 Golden Horse-winning film The Great Buddha+, thanks Taichung City Government for support
Winning five awards at the 54th Golden Horse, including “Best Adapted Screenplay“, “Best New Director”, “Best Cinematography“, “Best Original Film Score“, “Best Original Film Song“, Taiwanese film The Great Buddha+ does great honor to Taichung. When giving an acceptance speech for the Best Adapted Screenplay Award, director Huang specifically expressed his gratitude to Taichung City Government for the financial support and said that it takes not only a great screenplay but also sufficient funds to make a good film. The Director-General of Taichung City Information Bureau, Cho Kuan-Ting, pointed out that Taichung City is the only local government supporting The Great Buddha+, and he extended a sincere welcome to all filmmakers at home and abroad, inviting them to have their films made in Taichung.
According to Taichung City Information Bureau, The Great Buddha+ not only won the NT$1 million Grand Prize at the Taipei Film Awards but also scored 10 Golden Horse nominations. With substantial subsidies for film production from Taichung City Government, over a third of the film’s scenes were shot in Taichung. Examples include the Yuemei Tourism Sugar Factory, Tai-An Train Station, Shalu Campus of Tungs’ Taichung Metro Harbor Hospital, the Dajia Precinct of the Taichung Police Department, Da'an beach, and many more locations in the Nantun district, Xitun district, Waipu district, and Houli district.
To thank the Information Bureau for being a solid partner and giving strong backing to the crew, the film’s producer Sung Ming-Chung asked the director to list the Bureau’s staff in the film's closing credits. Besides, when receiving the Best Adapted Screenplay Award at the ceremony tonight, director Huang said on stage that it takes not only a great screenplay but also sufficient funds to make a good film, and he thanked Taichung City Government, the Ministry of Culture, and MandarinVision for the investment and subsidies.
The Bureau’s Director-General Cho Kuan-Ting pointed out that Taichung City is the only local government offering subsidies to The Great Buddha+, and that The Tag-Along 2,another film supported by Taichung City Government, is the only Taiwanese film that has hit over NT$100 million at the box office this year. The great success of these films proves again that members of the Taichung Film & TV commission are truly brilliant talent scouts.
Director-General Cho added that the Information Bureau aims to secure a total budget of NT$35 million for Film & TV production subsidies next year. And, with Taichung Film Development Foundation providing one-stop support services, the city government sincerely welcomes film crews in Taiwan and abroad to choose Taichung as their production base.
The Central Taiwan Film Studios in Wufeng District is currently under construction. The Studios will keep the wave-generating pool used by director Ang Lee while he filmed Life of Pi, along with a complete range of professional facilities, including two Taiwan’s largest indoor studios, one medium-sized studio, a deep-water pool specifically designed for film production, and workshops. The Studios is now 50% completed, and the construction is set to finish by mid-2018. Once completed, it will be run by professional studio management businesses in the country. Taichung City Government is committed to providing a conducive environment for filmmakers and turning the entire city into a grand studio for Film & TV productions.