Taiwan’s Golden Horse Film Project Promotion unveiled the most international lineup to date, revealing film and series projects that highlight the desire for cross-border collaboration in Asian films.
The 2025 Choice consists of 50 film projects (38 new developments (FPPs) and 12 works (WIPs)), plus the above-mentioned 14 series projects. During the project, 22 international co-productions ranging from Japan and South Korea to territories to Malaysia, France and the UK set new records for the event.
Slate reflects contemporary trends, featuring recipients of the Returning Golden Horse Award, with new voices exploring themes from LGBTQ+ identity to Indigenous culture, AI technology and intergenerational family dynamics.
Several Golden Horse Veterans are returning to the new project. Wei Te-Sheng, director of “Rainbow Warrior: Seediq Bale,” presents “Mountain Sancha,” a rescue mission that examines history and ethnic conflicts.
“Belami” helmer Jeng Jun is a team from Golden Horse Best Actor Winner Zhang Zhiyong and the dark comedy Born After, which explores the crisis of family across borders. Meanwhile, Wang I-Fang, the filmmaker of “Get The Hell Out,” has returned with “Prometheus.”
Popular writer director Giddens Ko adapts the work of another writer for the first time in “Holy’s Home,” exploring human relationships through temple rituals.
The Taiwan-Japan collaboration works prominently in You Shine in the Moonlight and You Shine in the Moonlight, an adaptation of the bestselling novel directed by Blue Than Blue director Gavin Lin as executive producer.
In “Granny’s Secret Journey,” director Nagata Koto, a protégé of Rock Shunji, revisits the history of Wansei (Japan, which was born in Taiwan during the colonial period).
The cross-continental projects include “Luma” by UK-based Taiwanese director Aephie Chen, “The Rhythm Man,” exploring the rediscovery of indigenous identities, and Taiwanese romance co-directed by Baeksang Arts Award winner Jo Hyun-Chul.
Hong Kong filmmakers are represented by Blue Island director Zhang Tse-Hoon adapting the novel “Nothing happened” about Hong Kong fixer. “High Noon” film director Heiward Mak’s “Nice to meet you!” It portrays three generations of women, and Saville Chan from “The Way We Dance” makes his directorial debut with a youth romance called “Peach Blossoms.”
Cat Kwan, the winner of Best Screenplay at the Hong Kong Film Awards, will return with “Lost Roots” to track China’s experience overseas.
Choices introduce the diversity of genres. AI content creator Danny Tseng introduces the supernatural thriller “Soul Lantern,” while Harry Potter actor Katy Leon creates “Blood Rush,” which fuses vampire mythology with Taoist rituals.
The winner of Golden Horse Best Animated Short Film, Ellischan Cain is a contribution to “The Wilderness of the Green River,” a brotherly love story set in a memory-bred future.
The documentary selection includes a follow-up to the “Republic” with “To To River,” which includes examining the students’ journey into monastic life.
Several projects explore themes of gender and sexuality. The “Little Big Women” team will adapt Terao Tetsuya’s bestselling novel “Sest Bullets” to reveal the lives of Silicon Valley engineers. Wang Ping-Wen and Peng Tzu-Hui, co-directors of “A Journey in Spring,” explore the “Unfinished Me” and explore the body and desires.
Executive producer Mark Lee Ping Bin presents “Ever Falling” and “Ever Falling,” a love story from “Abang Adik” filmmaker Jin Ong portrays the forbidden romance among undocumented workers in “Crying Dog.”
The WIP section continues to be successful with its 2025 releases, including “Where the River Flows,” “Blind Love,” “Before the Bright Day,” “Kong Tao,” “No Time for Goodbye,” and “The Rover.”
This year’s 12 WIP selections have documentary, animation and narrative features. The documentary project includes Lu Yuan-Chi’s “In The Spotlight,” which explores the life of legendary singer Yatauyungana Kikuko and the executive’s execution life produced by Shen Ko-Shang. Chian Yin-Yun and Chen Hsiang-Hao contributed to “Sunset Forest” and documented the conservation of leopard cats and cloudy leopards, while director Tei Bichpin follows the controversial Singaporean political figures of “Ji Pa Ban.” Ariel Tu’s “Vanishing Freedom” investigates Taiwan’s forced loss disappearance, while “The Cherry Orchard” produced by famous dancer Jin Xing presents a requiem of life.
The animation projects include the sequel to Taiwan’s animation feature, “Grandma and Her Ghost 2: Baby Power,” and the four-sided international co-production, “The Violinist,” a musical epic that took part in Annecy’s MIFA market.
The WIP selection of stories features Chang Jung-Chi’s “Dangling” director, director We Are Champions. Golden Horse Film Academy alumni Lu Po-Shun adapts his award-winning shorts to “You Will Still Be My Friend”, and “The Outlaw Doctor” director Chan Chun-Hao presents “Dead End” following a baseball player who risks everything to save his father.
The reason for blending cooking and dating apps from Hong Kong’s “far” director Amos to “Date Omakaze” is that it offers romance in four meals.
Golden Horse Film Project Promotion serves as Taiwan’s premier industry platform to connect regional projects with international investors and collaborators. International participation this year marks the continued globalization of Asian films and the growing opportunities for cross-border collaboration.
The Golden Horse Film Project Promotion will be held at the same time as the Golden Horse Award, the best film honor in Taiwan.
