Taiwan Picks 'A Foggy Tale' for Oscar Race

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- Taiwan's Ministry of Culture selected "A Foggy Tale," directed by Chen Yu-hsun, from seven domestic submissions by majority vote to represent the country at the 99th Academy Awards on March 14, 2027.
- The selection committee praised the film for its "vivid characters, smooth narrative and portrayal of the era through a lively, diverse perspective of ordinary people, reflecting Taiwan's unique character while maintaining universal humanistic care."
- Set in 1953, "A Foggy Tale" follows a teenage girl from Chiayi City traveling to Taipei to retrieve her brother's body after his execution by the Kuomintang government during the White Terror era.
- The drama led last year's Golden Horse field with 11 nominations and won four prizes at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards, including best narrative feature, best original screenplay for Chen, best art direction, and best makeup and costume design.
- Taiwan has submitted films to the international category since 1957 and earned three nominations, all directed by Ang Lee — "The Wedding Banquet" (1993), "Eat Drink Man Woman" (1994) and "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," which won the award in 2000.
- "Left-Handed Girl" was Taiwan's most recent submission and reached the Academy's shortlist without a nomination, joining "Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale" (2011) and "A Sun" (2020) in that near-miss tier.
Why it matters: Taiwan's three prior Oscar nominations all came from Ang Lee, with none since 2000 — so this submission is the country's first major push in over two decades, backed by a film that dominated the Golden Horses with 11 nominations and four wins including best narrative feature.
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