The Golden Harvest Awards for Independent Films and Shorts serve as an important cradle for Taiwan's film industry because short and independent films nourish the spirit of originality.
Many contemporary film professionals received their first commercial breakthrough after winning the Golden Harvest Awards, and previous recipients include such renowned directors as Ang Lee, Tsai Ming-liang, Tseng Chuang Hsiang, Rong-chi Chang, Huang Hui-chen, and Rina Tsou.
In recent years, the categories that saw the most growth are mainly drama films, followed by experimental works submitted by film students, which also rose sharply.