Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards

Overview

The Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is the highest recognition for Chinese-language cinema. Founded in 1962 in Taiwan, the Golden Horse Awards cover filmmakers from Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and the broader Chinese diaspora. The 62nd edition in 2025 received 593 submissions: 80 narrative features, 3 animated features, 64 documentary features, 310 live action shorts, 79 documentary shorts, and 57 animated shorts. The 63rd edition is scheduled for November 6 to 22, 2026, with the awards ceremony on November 22, 2026, at the Taipei Music Center.

Starting in 2025, all winning films in the short film categories are eligible for Academy Awards consideration. This makes the Golden Horse one of the few Asian festivals that can qualify short films for Oscar submission.

If you make Chinese-language films or films with significant Chinese-origin creative crew, the Golden Horse is the primary awards platform for your work. Visit the official submission page for current rules and deadlines.

Submission Costs and Deadlines

The Golden Horse Awards do not charge a submission fee. Submissions are made through the official website's online form.

63rd Golden Horse Awards (2026) submission schedule:

Film Festival submissions (separate from awards competition) run June 1 to July 31, 2026. The festival accepts both feature-length films (60+ minutes) and Chinese short-length films (under 60 minutes).

The submission form must be completed in traditional Chinese, with English translation required for film title, producing companies, producers, directors, and all awards for individual categories.

Eligibility Requirements

The Golden Horse has specific language and crew requirements that determine eligibility:

Language Requirement: Chinese languages (including official and vernacular languages used in Chinese-speaking territories worldwide, excluding dubbing) must be used as dialogue in no less than half of the film. Films with no dialogue must meet the crew requirement instead.

Crew Requirement: For features, at least half of the main creative crew must be of Chinese origin. The 15 categories that count as main creative crew are: director, leading actor, leading actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, original/adapted screenplay, cinematography, visual effects, art direction, makeup and costume design, action choreography, film editing, original film score, original film song, and sound effects. Where there are multiple members in a category, at least one must be of Chinese origin for that category to count.

For short films: All directors must be of Chinese origin.

Film length:

• Features: 60 minutes or more
• Short films (2025 onward): less than 40 minutes including all credits (reduced from previous 60-minute limit)

Premiere requirement: Films must not have been publicly screened before June 1, 2025 (for shorts) or July 1, 2025 (for features) for the 63rd edition, and must not have been submitted to the Golden Horse Awards in any other form or version.

Format: Films accepted for competition must be in DCP (Digital Cinema Package) meeting industrial standard for theatrical screening. If not in DCP at time of submission, the filmmaker must be ready to deliver a DCP within one week of being shortlisted.

Key Sections

• Golden Horse Awards Competition - the main awards competition across feature and short film categories. Over 30 award categories including Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, Best Leading Actor/Actress, Best Supporting Actor/Actress, Best Original/Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Documentary, Best Animated Feature, and Best Short Film.
• Golden Horse Film Festival - the screening program running alongside the awards. The 2025 festival ran November 6 to 22, screening all nominated films plus additional curated selections. Tickets go on sale October 26.
• Audience Choice Award - voted by festival audiences on November 8 and 9 at multiple venues across Taiwan (Hualien Railway Cinema, Vie Show Cinemas Hsinchu FE21, and Vie Show Cinemas Tainan FE21).
• FIPRESCI Prize - awarded by international critics
• Golden Horse Film Project Promotion (FPP) - a project market for Chinese-language films in development
• WIP (Works in Progress) - presentations of Chinese-language films in post-production

Major Awards

The 62nd Golden Horse Awards (2025) presented awards across the following categories:

• Best Narrative Feature
• Best Director
• Best Leading Actor and Best Leading Actress
• Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress
• Best New Director and Best New Performer
• Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay
• Best Cinematography
• Best Film Editing
• Best Visual Effects
• Best Art Direction
• Best Makeup and Costume Design
• Best Action Choreography
• Best Original Film Score and Best Original Film Song
• Best Sound Effects
• Best Documentary Feature
• Best Animated Feature
• Best Live Action Short Film
• Best Documentary Short Film
• Best Animated Short Film
• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Annual Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker Award

The 62nd edition was led by "A Foggy Tale" with 11 nominations, followed by "Left-Handed Girl" with 9 nominations. "Mother Bhumi" and "Family Matters" each received 8 nominations. Fan Bingbing was nominated for Best Leading Actress for "Mother Bhumi."

What Filmmakers Should Know

The Golden Horse operates under Taiwan's democratic cultural framework, which gives it artistic independence that is respected across the Chinese-speaking world. Unlike government-administered awards in mainland China, the Golden Horse does not impose political content restrictions on submissions. This has historically made it the most artistically credible awards platform for Chinese-language cinema.

Political tensions between Taiwan and mainland China have periodically affected mainland Chinese filmmakers' participation. In recent years, some mainland filmmakers have reduced or paused submissions due to cross-strait political pressure. Filmmakers from mainland China should monitor the current status of cross-strait cultural relations when planning submissions. The Golden Horse remains open to mainland Chinese films under its eligibility rules.

For international filmmakers seeking Taiwanese distribution or audience exposure, selection to the Golden Horse Film Festival screening program provides meaningful platform access. The festival screens nominated films alongside curated international selections. However, the awards competition is restricted to Chinese-language films meeting the language and crew requirements.

The three-stage voting process (preliminary, nomination, final) means that winners are decided by a jury on the day of the ceremony. The jury lineup is announced in late October each year.

Academy Award Qualifying Status

Starting in 2025, all winning films in the short film categories (Best Live Action Short Film, Best Documentary Short Film, Best Animated Short Film) are eligible for Academy Awards consideration. This makes the Golden Horse a direct pathway to Oscar qualification for Chinese-language short filmmakers.

Festival History

The Golden Horse Awards were established in 1962 by the Republic of China government to encourage the development of Chinese-language cinema. The name "Golden Horse" refers to Kinmen (Jinmen), an island controlled by Taiwan. The awards have evolved over six decades from a government-supported promotional tool into an independent artistic institution.

Key eligibility expansions over the years include: opening to all Chinese-language films regardless of production country (including mainland China); removing the requirement for a screening permit; and extending eligibility to films with at least half Taiwanese main crew regardless of funding sources. In 2025, the short film category length limit was reduced from 60 minutes to 40 minutes, and short film winners became Academy Award-eligible.

Major Chinese-language directors including Ang Lee, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, Wong Kar-wai, and Jia Zhangke have all received Golden Horse recognition. The awards have been instrumental in building the international profile of Chinese-language cinema.

Practical Information for Attendees

• Dates: The 63rd Golden Horse Film Festival runs November 6 to 22, 2026. The awards ceremony is November 22, 2026, at the Taipei Music Center.
• Nominations: Announced October 1, 2026.
• Tickets: Festival tickets go on sale October 26. Nominated films screen at select theaters in Taipei during the festival.
• Broadcast: The awards ceremony is broadcast live in Taiwan on TTV and streamed on MyVideo and LINE TODAY. International viewers can watch on StarHub (Singapore), Astro (Malaysia), or the TGHFF and TTV YouTube channels.
• Audience Choice Award voting: November 8 and 9 at venues in Hualien, Hsinchu, and Tainan. Registration opens October 8.

See Also

For understanding Chinese-language cinema, see International Film Markets. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. Use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator to plan your submission strategy.