It looks like Taiwanese actress Shu Qi has to find space in her trophy cabinet for her latest prize.
The 49-year-old won the Best Director award for her directorial debut Girl at the 30th Busan International Film Festival in South Korea on Sept 26.
Her husband, Hong Kong actor-director Stephen Fung, posted on social media on Sept 27 a photo of her beaming while holding the award. “Another win? There’s no more space at home, director!” he quipped in Chinese.
Shu replied to his post: “It’s been ages since my last win. Hopefully, it can squeeze in with Bucket Man and Labubu later.”
Bucket Man refers to the designer toys based on Fung’s original anime project. The 51-year-old launched the toys in collaboration with Hong Kong artist Michael Lau, who is known as the “Godfather of Designer Toys”. Labubu is one of Shu’s favourite plush toys.
Girl is a coming-of-age drama based on Shu’s troubled childhood growing up with an alcoholic father. The film stars teenage Taiwanese-Japanese actress Bai Xiao-ying and Taiwanese actor Roy Chiu and singer 9m88.
It had its world premiere at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on Sept 4, where it was in competition for the prestigious Golden Lion. It had its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.
In her acceptance speech in Busan, Shu thanked her parents for spurring her on in her career, as well as Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien and Fung.
Shu, who starred in Hou’s Millennium Mambo (2001), Three Times (2005) and The Assassin (2015), said she would not have made her directorial debut without the 78-year-old’s encouragement.
She also expressed her gratitude to Fung for his constant support, thanking him for willing to “marry a woman who is not at home most of the time”.
Shu has won several awards in her 30-year acting career, including Best Leading Actress at the Golden Horse Awards for Three Times, and Best Actress at the Asian Film Awards for The Assassin.
She will next be seen in the Taiwanese revenge thriller series, The Resurrected, which premieres on Netflix on Oct 9, alongside Malaysian actress Lee Sinje and Taiwanese actor Fu Meng-po. – The Straits Times/Asia News Network
