Shu Qi, who stars in the film "The Assassin," promoted the film at the Cannes Film Festival last May. (Photo : Wikimedia)
The Motion Picture and Drama Association of Taiwan has announced that "The Assassin" is its official entry to the 2016 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
According to a statement released by the association on Wednesday, "The Assassin" bested 12 other candidates because of "its high degree of proficiency in cinematography, lighting, arts and character shaping, which succeeded in demonstrating natural personalities of people in a classic setting."
The film is directed by Hou Hsiao-hsein and stars Shu Qi, Chang Chen, Zhou Yun and Satoshi Tsumabuki.
The statement also said, "The director shows great ambition in creating a new film language style."
Set in China, the film tells the story of a general's daughter named Nie Yinniang who is trained by a nun from a young age to become an assassin.
"Nie Yinniang" is also the Chinese title of the film.
The film won Hou the Best Director Award and a Palme d'Or nomination at the 68th Cannes Film Festival held in May.
As of now, Taiwan has only been awarded with one Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, which it bagged for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" during the 73rd Academy Awards in 2000.
Taiwan also had two consecutive nominations in 1993 and 1994 for "The Wedding Banquet" and "Eat Drink Man Woman," respectively.
The deadline for submission of entries for foreign-language film to the Academy Awards is Oct. 1. The nominated films will be announced on Jan. 16, 2016, and the ceremony will take place on Feb. 28 at the Dolby Theater in Hollywood.
