Source: Taiwan News
"Au Revoir, Taipei, " a romantic comedy featuring Taipei City, won the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival 2010 Saturday, beating 11 other Asian entries.
The love story, which takes place over the course of one evening in Taipei City, was produced by German director/producer Wim Wenders and directed by budding Asian-American director Arvin Chen.
Chen is no stranger to the Berlin film festival. He won a Silver Berlin Bear-Jury Grand Prix for Short Films for a short he made titled "May" in 2007.
"Au Revoir, Taipei," stars talented actors including singer Amber Kuo, Jack Yao, Joseph Chang and Lawrence Ko, and is a laughter-provoking film that screened to a full audience and won loud applause in Berlin.
Yao received the NETPAC prize on behalf of the film. "Je t'aime Berlin! " he exclaimed on the podium, his use of French accentuating the movie's title.
Frank J.K. Chen, director of the Motion Picture Affairs Department under the Cabinet-level Government Information Office (GIO) , conveyed the government's congratulations to Arvin Chen Saturday over the honor.
By winning the top award of NETPAC, which is an alliance of the Berlin film festival organizers, "Au Revoir, Taipei" now has the opportunity of winning a prize of NT$1.5 million awarded by the GIO.
Another Taiwanese movie, "Monga, " which has enjoyed huge box office success in Taiwan, was also screened at the festival, but did not win a prize.
Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin welcomed the victory of "Au Revoir, Taipei, " which was made thanks to great support from the city government during shooting.
"`Au Revoir, Taipei' is another example of the city government's cooperation with film producers to sell Taipei," Hau said.
Various Taipei features, including the MRT system, the night markets and the round-the-clock Eslite bookstore, all have prominence in the film.
The city government cooperated with 15 countries in the production of 25 motion pictures in 2009 alone, Hau noted.
The Berlin International Film Festival 2010 was scheduled to close Sunday.
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