Liao Ching-sung

Liao Ching-sung (Chinese: 廖慶松; born March 5, 1950), also known as "Liao-san" (廖桑), is a Taiwanese film editor, known for his work with Taiwanese New Wave directors such as Hou Hisao-Hsien, Edward Yang and Wan Jen. He has received numerous accolades including two Golden Horse Awards for Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker of the Year, as well as the Special Contribution Award of Golden Horse Awards in 2018.^[1]

In addition to his work as an editor, Liao has also co-written screenplays with Wan Jen for Super Citizen (超級市民) and Super Citizen Ko (超級大國民). He has directed several movies, including Be My Lovely Child Again (期待你長大), and When the Ocean Is Blue (海水正藍). Since Flowers of Shanghai (海上花), he has also been the producer for many of Hou Hsiao-Hsien's films.^[2]

After graduating from Taipei Municipal Chenggong High School, Liao Ching-Sung failed his college entrance exams. Instead of devoting another year to entering college, he applied for the technical training program of Central Pictures Corporation (中影技術訓練班). Of roughly 200 applicants, only 50 were selected and Liao was among them. He was enrolled in October 1973 and joined the Central Pictures Editing Room (中影剪接室) in early 1974. The training program was divided into different groups for sound recording, editing, lighting, printing, and photography, among which Liao chose to study editing. He excelled in his studies and ranked first in his class upon graduation.^[3]

Liao started working as an assistant editor for Eternal Glory (英烈千秋) at Central Pictures in 1974.^[4] Later that year, he met Hou Hsiao-Hsien while working at the Department of short film production at Central Pictures.^[3]

In 1978, Liao was nominated for his first Golden Horse Award for editing Lee Hsing's movie, He Never Gives Up (汪洋中的一條船).^[5]

In 1980, Liao embarked on his first attempt at a new editing style with the film Love on The Wave (我踏浪而來) directed by Chen Kun-Hou (陳坤厚), in which he allowed a take to go longer than the customary style of studio films of the 1970s.^[2] The turning point of his career as a film editor did not occur until 1983, when he began editing The Boys from Fengkuei (風櫃來的人) directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien.^[2] This film allowed him to break free from traditional editing rules and experiment with a new approach that shifted from "narrative logic" to "emotional logic".^[3]

Liao Ching-Sung's editing expertise has been sought after not only by Taiwanese directors like Yee Chih-Yen (易智言), Chen Hsin-yi (陳芯宜), and Yang Ya-Che (楊雅喆), but also by Mainland Chinese directors such as Wang Xiao-Shuai (王小帥) and Liu Jie (劉杰). His editing work on Beijing Bicycle (十七歲的單車) earned it the Grand Jury Prize at the Berlin Film Festival in 2001, while Courthouse on Horseback (馬背上的法院) was nominated in the Horizon section at the Venice Film Festival in 2006.^[6]

In recent years, Liao has continued to work on Mainland Chinese films that have garnered recognition at various film festivals, including Tharlo (塔洛), which received four Golden Horse Awards nominations, Knife in the Clear Water (清水裡的刀子), which won the New Currents Award at the Busan Film Festival, Suburban Birds (郊區的鳥), which was nominated for the competition at the Locarno Film Festival, and The Summer Is Gone (八月), which won the Best Picture award at the Golden Horse Awards. All of these films were edited by Liao Ching-Sung.^[6]