2 Oct - Fan Bingbing has gone a long way since her tax evasion days, as she has now been nominated in the Best Actress category at the Golden Horse Awards. The actress, who has been banned in mainland China for seven years since her 2018 scandal, recently made her comeback with Malaysian film, "Mother Bhumi", helmed by Chong Keat Aun of "Snow in Midsummer" fame. In "Mother Bhumi", Fan plays the role of Hong Im, a widowed farmer and ritual healer who resists land seizures by day, and heals and exorcises by night. She will be facing competition from Caitlin Fang ("A Foggy tale"), Rene Liu ("Unexpected Courage"), Ariel Lin ("Deep Quiet Room"), and Alexia Kao ("Family Matters").
Fan has won praises from director Chong for her performance. To embody the character, she began preparing for the film in June 2024, learning Malay, Hokkien, Malaysian Mandarin, Siamese, and gaining 6kg.
Chong said that while he was not interested to use stars with great beauty and strong aura like Fan, Fan took the initiative to tell him that she has no issues looking sloppy or messy in a movie despite her glamorous persona in public.