Dai was honored for his film which is based on a true story about a single, low-income Taiwanese father's desperate struggle to retain guardianship of his young daughter, with whom he had a strong bond.

The heartwarming movie also depicts the difficulties poor and uneducated people in Taiwan face against a sometimes bureaucratic system.

Award came as a surprise

After receiving his trophy at the ceremony held at the Taiwan County Hall Building, Dai said that the award came as a surprise for him and he thanked his family, friends and co-workers for their long-term support.

"No Pudeo Visir Sin Ti" pocketed four awards: best feature film, best director, best original screenplay and outstanding Taiwanese film of the year, making it and Dai the biggest winner of the festival.

Nick Cheung and Huang Bo were named co-winners of the Best Leading Actor Award for their roles in "the Beast Stalker" and " Cow," respectively. It's the first time the best leading actor award went to two actors in the 46-year history of the festival.

Lee Bingbing, a mainland Chinese actress was conferred the best leading actress prize for her role in "The Message."

The Golden Horse Awards was founded in 1962 to promote Taiwanese film production and recognize excellent Taiwanese films and outstanding filmmakers. It has evolved over the years into Chinese language films' version of the Oscars.

Ming Ji, who was dubbed "the frontiersman of Taiwan's movie industry," was conferred the "Lifetime Achievement Award" for his contribution to the local movie industry by cultivating several top- notch directors, including Hsiaoyieh (Lee Yuan) and Wu Nien-jen, when he served as president of the Central Pictures Corporation between 1978 and 1984.