Same-sex comedy drama "Dear Ex (誰先愛上他的)" was nominated by a panel led by the Ministry of Culture's Bureau Of Audiovisual and Music Industry Development to represent Taiwan at the 92nd Academy Awards as the nation's contender for Best International Feature Film.
Co-directed by Mag Hsu (徐譽庭) and Hsu Chih-yen (許智彥), "Dear Ex" won the awards for Best Narrative Feature, Best Actor, and Best Actress at the 20th Taipei Film Festival last summer. Additionally, "Dear Ex" was nominated for eight awards at the 55th Golden Horse Awards, capturing the honors for Best Leading Actress, Best Original Film Song, and Best Film Editing.
The Ministry of Culture said film nominations were quite active and enthusiastic this year, with a total of 16 films submitted for consideration. After much deliberation and discussion by the selection panel, "Dear Ex" was chosen to represent Taiwan. The panel believed "Dear Ex" used a humorous approach to reflect variegated gender issues, and demonstrated Taiwan's contemporary vitality and equal rights achievements.
The Ministry of Culture will continue to revitalize Taiwan's film production, strengthen the film industry's ecosystem, and foster script creation and talent cultivation by using the dual mechanisms of subsidies and investments to encourage new creations, and finance film directors and producers who have been recognized by important film festivals domestically and abroad.
In addition, the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) will work closely with foreign agencies to deepen access to international markets and introduce Taiwan's rich cultural diversity to the world.