Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-Hsien poses during a photocall after he was awarded with the Best Director prize during the closing ceremony of the 68th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southeastern France. - AFP
The 68-year-old is one of the biggest names in Taiwan’s “New Wave” cinema, having won a string of international film awards, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for “City of Sadness” in 1989 and the 1993 Cannes Film Festival third-place prize for “The Puppetmaster”.
Taiwan is currently recognised by only 22 countries, as China considers the island part of its territory and demands that all diplomatic allies cut off official ties.
But the island’s government has tried in recent years to make up for this lack of diplomatic clout by building up soft power, with a number of high-profile films being made in the country.
Hollywood heavyweight Martin Scorsese filmed his forthcoming drama “Silence” on the island, to be released in 2016, while Taiwan-born, US-based director Ang Lee also shot his 2012 Oscar-winning 3D adventure “Life of Pi” in the country.
French director Luc Besson meanwhile filmed some of his 2014 sci-fi thriller “Lucy” in Taipei.
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