2026 Nominees

The Carry-On

Hakka TV

TAIWAN

- Feature Length Film

What haunts us is not only death—more often, it is growing old. Unlike most protagonists, Pei-Hua is like a blurred sketch, washed in dull grays, without sharp contours or a defined temperament. In many ways, she embodies what it feels like for a woman to enter the world of aging. Many mothers stay stubbornly rooted where they are, so that when their daughters look back, they can see how far they have come. Everyone has their own “carry-on,” which we can regard as problems brought from somewhere else into this life for us to resolve (or lessons we must face). And when we must finally leave, are these carry-ons still there? So in the film, a fire is lit—a ritual celebrating loss. Searching for a better way to say goodbye. Almost nothing in life is pure joy or pure sorrow. The Carry-On is no exception.