| White Ant | |
| Director: | Chu Hsien-che |
| Producer: | Mark Chen |
| Starring: | Wu Kang-jen Aviis Zhong Yu Tai-yan |
| Music: | Wu Chia-feng |
| Cinematography: | Lei Heng |
| Editing: | Cheng Hsiao-tung |
| Studio: | Big Houses Film Production Content Digital Film Co. |
| Distributor: | Ablaze Image |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Country: | Taiwan |
| Language: | Mandarin |
| Gross: | NT$1.5 million (Taiwan)[1] [2] |
White Ant is a 2016 Taiwanese drama film and the narrative feature film debut of Chu Hsien-che, who worked as a documentarian for more than 20 years prior to White Ant. The film stars Wu Kang-jen, Aviis Zhong and Yu Tai-yan.[3]
Bai Yide is a young bookstore worker living alone in a Taipei neighborhood. Unknown to anyone else, the socially inept Bai has an uncontrollable fetish for women's underwear due to a traumatic past event. One day, he receives a video recording of himself caught in the act of stealing female lingerie, leading to a gradually accumulating sense of anxiety and fear of exposure with tragic consequences.
Elizabeth Kerr of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "Carefully modulated and wisely attuned to its strongest elements, White Ant is evidence of Chu's doc background, both in style and substance." She concluded that the film is "a strong exploration of the psychological impact of shame, fear and guilt".[6]
| Award ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21st Busan International Film Festival[7] | FIPRESCI Prize | White Ant | ||
| 53rd Golden Horse Awards | Best New Director | Chu Hsien-che | ||
| 1st Malaysia Golden Global Awards[8] [9] | Best Film | White Ant | ||
| Best New Director | Chu Hsien-che | |||
| Best Screenplay | Chu Hsien-che | |||
| Best Cinematography | Lei Heng | |||
| 27th Singapore International Film Festival[10] | Silver Screen Award for Best Asian Feature Film | White Ant | ||
| 19th Taipei Film Awards[11] | Best Actor | Wu Kang-jen |