Lou Ye’s 'An Unfinished Film' Wins Top Honors at Taiwan's Golden Horse Awards

The docu-drama about Wuhan's COVID-19 lockdown secures Best Film and Best Director, highlighting tensions between artistic freedom and Chinese censorship.

• Mainland Chinese director Lou Ye's 'An Unfinished Film' won Best Narrative Feature and Best Director at the Golden Horse Awards, often called the 'Chinese-language Oscars.'
• The film, a docu-drama set during Wuhan's COVID-19 lockdown, includes banned imagery and remains unreleased in mainland China due to censorship concerns.
• Lou Ye, known for tackling sensitive subjects, was absent from the ceremony, but his wife Ma Yingli accepted the awards and read his statement describing the project as his 'most special' directing experience.
• Chinese actor Zhang Zhiyong won Best Actor for his role in the same-sex drama 'Bel Ami,' which also earned awards for cinematography and editing but has no release planned in China.
• Despite Beijing's ban on official participation since 2019, over 200 Chinese films entered this year's competition, marking a significant increase in submissions.

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Variety