(Taipei, Nov 22) At tonight’s 62nd Golden Horse Awards, the prize for Best Original Film Song was awarded to “Bu Yang”, composed and performed by Penny Tai, with lyrics by director Chong Keat Aun.
The song is featured in the film Mother Bhumi, set in rural Malaysia and themed around land, faith, and family memories. This marks Penny Tai’s first attempt at composing a theme song for a film. Before watching the full movie, she created the song based on selected footage provided by the director and a piece of Siamese scripture. She incorporated the chant of the scripture and original street procession recordings collected by the director into the track.
Director Chong Keat Aun, who also wrote the lyrics for “Bu Yang”, praised Tai for infusing the song with “magic and mystique,” perfectly aligning it with the film’s unique spiritual atmosphere. Chong previously won the Golden Horse Award for Best New Director for The Story of Southern Islet. Penny Tai, a renowned Mandopop singer-songwriter with five Golden Melody Awards, has now taken home her first Golden Horse Award with “Bu Yang”.
