Taiwanese film nominated at Busan International Film Festival

Taiwanese film nominated at Busan International Film Festival 2012/09/12 17:19:38

Taipei, Sept. 12 (CNA) A Taiwanese film featuring a cross-country scooter brigade of octogenarians has been nominated for an award in the Wide Angle Documentary Competition at the 17th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) in South Korea. "Go Grandriders," one of the 10 entries vying for the BIFF Mecenat Award, was directed by Hua Tien-hau, a 31-year-old director, who told CNA Wednesday the film was his first feature-length documentary, and he was very excited and grateful that his film had been nominated. The 90-minute film was based on the true story of 17 men, with an average age of 81, who decided to embark on a journey around the island by motorcycle to fulfill their dream of seeing every part of Taiwan. Two of them were cancer survivors, eight had heart diseases, and four of them wore hearing aids. Despite their illnesses and opposition from their families, the men embarked on a 1,139-kilometer ride that took 13 days. "I'm very honored and happy the spirit that 'one is never too old to ride' can be seen on the international stage," Hua said, adding that the stories behind the men are even more touching. Hua will depart for South Korea to attend the film festival Oct. 4, when the event begins. The world premiere of the film will be held at the festival Oct. 5, followed by another two showings on Oct. 6 and 8. The director said he and an 88-year-old rider will meet local fans on the third and last showing. The BIFF, which runs until Oct. 13, will announce category winners on the festival's final day. The film will be shown in Taiwan from Oct. 12. (By James Lee) Source: http://focustaiwan.tw