Ang Lee will chair the jury of the 50th Anniversary of Golden Horse Awards, according to an announcement made yesterday.

"It's my honor to be invited to serve as the president of jury," Ang Lee, two-time Oscar winner, said. "I will do my best to moderate the each jury member's opinions in this most prestigious annual Chinese film competition."

Ang Lee said he would go back to Taiwan for two weeks to review all the films in competitions.

Tsai Ming-Liang's latest film "Stray Dogs" will open the festival, while Johnnie To will serve on the jury for Film Project Promotion. Hou Hsiao-Hsien, the festival’s chairman, will lead the Film Academy in person.

"Stray Dogs," Tsai's first feature film in four years, was the only Chinese-language film contending at the 2013 Venice Film Festival. It stars Tsai's long-term collaborators Lee Kang-Sheng, Yang Kuei-Mei, Chen Shiang-Chyi and Lu Yi-Ching.

Three-time Golden Horse Award winner Johnnie To, known for his diverse repertoire, ranging from romantic comedy to crime drama, will participate in the Golden Horse Film Project Promotion as a judge.

Johnnie To not only won Best Director in 2012 for "Life without Principle," but his film "Drug War" was also selected to open the 2013 Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival.

Together with his fellow jury members, To will review 25 films and choose the Grand Prize winner. The cash prize for the winner is 1 million Taiwan dollars.

As the Chairman of Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee, veteran filmmaker Hou Hsiao-Hsien founded the Golden Horse Film Academy in 2009. This year, Hou himself will conduct classes in his unique directing style.

The official poster of the 50th Golden Horse has also been unveiled, with fragments of a photo of Maggie Cheung, the festival's ambassador. It is a collaboration between the renowned graphic designer Yung-Chen Nieh and cinematographer Wing Shya.

The 2013 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival will be held from November 8 to 28, and the 50th Golden Horse Awards Ceremony will be presented on November 23. Reports suggest that 67 past award winners will also attend, including Charlie Chin and Brigitte Lin.

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