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Joan Chen and Tony Ayres both win awards at the "Asian Oscars"

The Home Song Stories has taken home two awards from from the 44th Golden Horse Film Festival held on Saturday December 8 in Taipei, Taiwan.

From the official press release:

Tony Ayres, Melbourne based writer and director of the feature film The Home Song Stories, last night won the Best Original Screenplay Award in the 44th Golden Horse Awards held in Taipei. Actress Joan Chen also won the Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Ayres’ mother in the film which was produced in Melbourne last year by Liz Watts (Porchlight Films) and Michael McMahon (Big and Little Films).

The Golden Horse Awards are held annually in Taiwan and are known as the “Asian Oscars”. They are the most coveted Chinese language film prizes and were presented last night in a stadium packed with 10,000 people at a ceremony that was broadcast live to millions throughout Asia.

In accepting his award Ayres acknowledged the important role that culture plays in bridging the gap between countries and how proud he was to accept the Taiwanese award for the story about how his Chinese mother migrated to Australia with his sister and him as small children in the 1960’s.

Ayres said: “I hope that this film and this award will help audiences understand more about the migration experience. And I also hope that the recent election of a Mandarin speaking prime minister in Australia is an indication that Australia will have closer cultural ties with the countries of Asia.”

Also attending the awards ceremony was 13 year old Joel Lok, who plays Tom in The Home Song Stories. He had two nominations in the awards.

Best Actress Award winner Joan Chen with Ang Lee at the Golden Horse Awards

Best Original Screenplay Award winner Tony Ayres