Director Ang Lee's film, 'The Wedding Banquet'

In 1994, Director Ang Lee stimulated the Taiwan film market with two "first's". Lee's film, "Drink, Eat, Man, Woman" raised sponsorship funding of 10 million New Taiwan Dollars from advertisers. It marked the first time film makers and Taiwan's corporate sector had collaborated. Next, Lee's film, the "Wedding Banquet", became the first Taiwan produced film to be selected for competition in that year's Oscar's for the Best Foreign-Language Film. It was also the one of the most widely recognized and viewed films around the world in 1993. Ang Lee's success in film and on the commercial side of film, raised a glimmer of hope for film makers in Taiwan. After scoring his initial successes, Ang Lee's career went international. He's become one of Hollywood's top directors and no longer focuses on the Taiwan market. In 1997, the cinema's top prize for Taiwan produced films, the Golden Horse Awards, were swept by productions from Hong Kong. The big winners that year included, "Comrades, Almost A Love Story", "Happy Together", "Legend of Mad Phoenix", and "The Soong Sisters". Taiwan based artists came up with only the best supporting actor and actress awards. It was a year that saw only 29 films produced on the island.