Taipei, Nov. 6 (CNA) Taiwan-based Malaysian film director Tsai Ming-liang (蔡明亮) was honored with an award Sunday from the Academy of the Performing Arts in Prague, according to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Prague.

Tsai was awarded the AMU Golden Award for his contributions to cinema, a first for a director from Taiwan, David Čeněk, head of the academy's Film and TV School, said at a ceremony held at Prague's National Film Archive.

On receiving the award, Tsai said Taiwan and the Czech Republic are very similar, both being countries with a rich cultural heritage, particularly in film.

In collaboration with TECO, the academy's Film and TV School also held screenings of Tsai's classic works, including the feature-length films "Goodbye, Dragon Inn" (不散), "The Wayward Cloud" (天邊一朵雲), "Days" (日子) and "Where" (何處).

Over the weekend, Tsai also received a Contribution to World Cinema award at the Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival, which was held in the Czech city of Jihlava from Oct. 25 to Nov. 3.