Chinese film about Covid lockdown wins top prize in 2024 Golden Horse awards in Taiwan

Lou Ye’s An Unfinished Film, winner of best film and best director at Golden Horse awards, ‘the most special directing job’, director says

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Qin Hao in a still from An Unfinished Film, by Chinese director Lou Ye, which won best film and best director at the 2024 Golden Horse awards in Taiwan on November 23, 2024.

Published: 10:16am, 24 Nov 2024Updated: 11:06am, 24 Nov 2024

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.

Lou Ye’s docudrama about Covid-19 lockdowns in China, An Unfinished Film, won for best film and for best director, awards accepted by his wife, Ma Yingli, as he is in Japan for work.

“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.

Ma Yingli reads a message from her husband, Lou Ye, at the 61st Golden Horse Awards in Taipei after his film An Unfinished Film won best film and best director. Photo: Reuters

Chinese director Lou Ye at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, where his film An Unfinished Film premiered out of competition. Photo: AFP

Lou has had numerous run-ins with Chinese censors, including for his sexually graphic 2006 film Summer Palace.