Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival

• Best Director & Best Picture

  The Warlords (DVD) (Director's Edition) (Hong Kong Version)
  From Comrades, Almost a Love Story to Perhaps Love, Peter Chan seems to have perfected the formula for commercial filmmaking. Chan is the rare director who connects with both mainstream audiences and arthouse critics, so it's no surprise that his first stab at the big-budget war epic, The Warlords, has become one of Hong Kong's biggest blockbusters of 2007. Superstars Jet Li, Andy Lau, and Takeshi Kaneshiro star in this grand and gritty tale of war, romance, and brotherhood in 19th-century China. Based on Chang Cheh's Blood Brothers, the film features action choreography from Ching Siu Tung (Hero) and impressive, large-scale battle scenes befitting of the big screen.
  
  

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• Best Leading Actress

  True Women For Sale (DVD) (Hong Kong Version)
  Hong Kong film auteur Herman Yau follows up his highly acclaimed 2007 prostitute ensemble drama Whispers and Moans with True Women For Sale. With the original Chinese title meaning "I don't sell my body, I sell my womb", Yau's latest work sells not only tales of sex workers, but also a realistic portrayal of the marginalized in a poor, old district of Hong Kong.
  
  

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• Best Supporting Actress

  Orz Boyz (DVD) (2-Disc Edition) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version)
  There's no need to "ORZ" (bow in apology and deference) when it comes to Orz Boyz! Best known as the author of Blue Gate Crossing which was adapted into a hit film in 2002, Taiwan novelist and first-time director Gillies Yang Ya Che won the Best Director prize at the 2008 Taipei Film Festival with this childhood charmer dedicated to kids who can't wait to grow up, and adults who wish they could be kids again.
  
  

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• Best Cinematography

  Sparrow (DVD) (US Version)
  Premiering at the Berlin Film Festival with stops at the Udine Far East Film Festival and the New York Asian Film Festival, Johnnie To's Sparrow is certainly well-traveled. The award-winning director took three years to make this gorgeous little film characterized by vibrant locations and heaps of entertaining style. To enlisted many of his regular players for Sparrow - including Simon Yam, Kelly Lin, Gordon Lam, Lo Hoi Pang, and Lam Suet - and each plays their part with solid, practiced charisma. But this is clearly Johnnie To's show, and the director delivers an engaging cinema love letter demonstrating his affection for both his city and the movies. This whimsical thriller creates a glamorous Hong Kong filled with gentleman pickpockets, elegant damsels, and unspoken honor amongst thieves. As lovely and enjoyable as it is breezy and smart, Sparrow is a Hong Kong movie with grace, wit, and abundant cinematic pleasure.
  
  

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Directors