The Free Man is the first film from Taiwan to compete at the Oscars in the Best Live Action Short Film category.
The highly acclaimed short film was nominated for 10 Golden Bell Awards for television and won four last year. This year, director Boon Lip Quah won the Silver Dragon for the Director of the Best Short Fiction Film at the Krakow Film Festival, and Best Play at the Shanghai International Film Festival.
The 30-minute film is based on a true story of an aborigine named Tang Ing Shen who was abused by his boss, a dry cleaning store owner. During a conflict between the two, Tang killed his boss and the whole family of three. This happened over 20 years ago in Taiwan and was a controversial case as Tang was sentenced to the death penalty. Many people petitioned for him to be given a second chance, but he was executed at age 18.
The Free Man depicts a different ending to this story. It portrays a man who is released from prison and how he tries to live a free life.
Boon is from Malaysia and came to study at Taiwan’s Shih Hsin University nine years ago. He did graduate studies in film at Taipei National University of the Arts.