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Films by mainland Chinese directors – one about the Covid-19 pandemic, the other a gay romance – won major prizes at the Golden Horse awards in Taiwan.
Unencumbered by the strict censorship of mainland China, Taiwan’s Golden Horse awards typically attract a diverse selection of films. More than 200 films made in mainland China were entered in competition, the highest number in recent years, according to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council.
“We all went through that difficult period together,” Lou said in a message Ma read out, describing the film, set during the lockdown of Wuhan in the earliest stages of the pandemic, as “the most special directing job I have ever done”, and thanking those who worked on the film.
Lou has had numerous run-ins with Chinese censors, including for his sexually graphic 2006 film Summer Palace.