The Taipei Film Commission yesterday announced the winners of the 12th annual “Filming Taipei” screenplay competition.

First prize, the “Golden Script” award, went to Lee Yi-fang for San Yu, who will also receive a record NT$400,000 in cash, the commission said.

The second-place “Silver Script” award, with a NT$150,000 cash prize, was given to A-ching’s A Distant Place Called Taipei, while, Kou-pi, won the “Bronze Script” award, and a NT$50,000 cash prize, for Lien Lien Chia Jui, it said.

The theme of this year’s competition, organized by the commission, the Taipei Department of Cultural Affairs and the Taipei Culture Foundation, was “Taipei Romance”, the commission said in a statement.

This year was the first time the competition set a theme for the scripts: Writers were asked to create love stories with a contemporary perspective, it said.

Entries could be submitted from May 1 to June 30, and a record 147 scripts were received, it said.

Through its portrayal of ordinary family members, Lee’s San Yu delicately presents the challenges and emotions of Taipei’s residents, and their expectations of love, while A-ching’s A Distant Place Called Taipei accurately describes a sense of fate in love, the commission said.

Kou-pi’s imaginative script for Lien Lien Chia Jui was praised by the jury for its clever grasp of time, space and characters, and its surprising structure.

The five-member jury included actors Wu Kang-ren and Ariel Lin, the first time they have served on the jury, the commission said.

It quoted Lin as saying that she encountered many scripts from among the entries that she would want to perform, while Wu said he hoped to see the works brought to the big screen.

The award ceremony is to be held on Wednesday next week, the commission added.