Ng See-Yuen

Ng See-Yuen , born 1944 in Shanghai, is a director of independent film in Hong Kong. He has worked in the since 1970, particularly in Hong Kong action cinema, with roles including film director, and screenwriter.

History

His career in the industry began at Shaw Brothers Studio, where his official title was "Executive". The first film he was involved in was ''The Chinese Boxer'' , on which he worked as assistant director to film director Jimmy Wang Yu.

In 1975, he founded Seasonal Films Corporation. The first film produced by the company was ''Secret Rivals'' in 1976, which Ng also directed.

Ng produced and co-wrote ''Snake in the Eagle's Shadow'' and ''Drunken Master'', which were both the first films directed by Yuen Woo-ping, and Jackie Chan's first real successes at the domestic box office.

In 1985, Ng was the first Hong Kong producer to make a film in the USA that successfully showed the Hong Kong style of action, when he worked with Corey Yuen on ''No Retreat, No Surrender'', which starred then unknowns Kurt McKinney and Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Other notable films that Ng See-Yuen worked on include ''Ninja in the Dragon's Den'' and ''Legend of a Fighter'' , both in 1982. He also co-produced Jackie Chan's 1992 film ''Twin Dragons'', and four of the ''.

Still working in the industry, his latest film was Alfred Cheung's romantic comedy ''Contract Lover'', which he produced in 2007.

Ng See-Yuen is also the founder of "UME International Cineplex," which is one of the largest cinema chains in China, with five-star cineplexes in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Chongqing, Hangzhou and Beijing. "UME" is an acronym for Ultimate Movie Experience. He is also chairman of the Federation Of Hong Kong Filmmakers.

Ma-Xu Weibang

Ma-Xu Weibang was a film director active in the mainland during the 1920s through 1940s, and later in Hong Kong, perhaps best known for his work in the horror genre, the most important unarguably being the Phantom of the Opera-inspired, ''Song at Midnight''. Ma-Xu was also known for a few acting roles early in his career, as well as for being a screenwriter. The director of 33 known films, much of Ma-Xu's early work has been lost.

Ma-Xu was born Xu Weibang in 1905 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. Little is known of this early period except that his parents died while Ma-Xu was still a child, which was said to influence his decision to incorporate his wife's surname, "Ma".

Career in film

Ma-Xu studied at the Shanghai Institute of Fine Arts in the early 1920s. Following his graduation, he began working as an actor for the Mingxing Film Company, his first film being Zhang Shichuan's ''The Marriage Trap'' in 1924. Following a brief stint in the short-lived Langhua Film Company where he directed his first film in 1926, Ma-Xu returned to Mingxing where he began serving as assistant directors for some of the more established talent. His thriller, ''The Cry of Apes in a Deserted Valley'' is the only one of these directorial efforts to have survived.

Ma-Xu's first real success, however, did not come until 1937 with ''Song at Midnight'', often referred to as China's first horror film. Based on Gaston Leroux's classic , the film is now seen as part of the canon of early Chinese cinema, and was also remade as ''The Phantom Lover'' by Ronny Yu in 1996. Ma-Xu followed up ''Song'' with two additional horror films, ''Walking Corpse in an Old House'' and ''The Lonely Soul'' . In 1941, he made a lackluster sequel to ''Song at Midnight'' , and also co-directed with Bu Wancang the controversial Japanese propaganda film '''' .

Like Bu, Ma-Xu suffered for his work on ''The Opium War'' after the Japanese were defeated and was eventually forced to move to Hong Kong where he continued to work in the film business until 1961, when he was killed in a road accident.

Filmography

Note: in most early Chinese films, there often were no official English translations, leading to a sometimes confusing lack of consistency in titles.

Ma Liwen

Ma Liwen is an award-winning film director.

Ma graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 1994 and is considered one of Fifth Generation director Tian Zhuangzhuang's proteges along with Ning Hao.

Filmography

As director

Lu Xuechang

Lu Xuechang is a sixth generation . One of a new crop of talented filmmakers, Lu has directed four feature films beginnign with his debut, ''The Making of Steel'' in 1997.

Like many of his present-day peers, critics have seen elements of foreign filmmakers in Lu's work with Lu himself claiming to enjoy Italian cinema . Also like his peers, however, Lu has had his share of run-ins with the censors. ''The Making of Steel'' for example, was recut six times before it was allowed to be screened.

Filmography

Liu Fendou

Liu Fendou is a screenwriter, film director, and film producer. Born in Beijing, Liu Fendou spent some time in the United States in his youth doing "generally doing a whole lot of nothing" until returning to Beijing in 1995.

Upon his return to China, Liu entered into the film world, and soon became a major figure in China's independent film scene. Beginning his career as a screenwriter collaborating with in his films ''Spicy Love Soup'', and '''', and Shi Runjiu in '''', Liu eventually moved on to founding his own independent production company, Electric Orange Entertainment, which helped finance and produce Zhang Yibai's debut film ''Spring Subway''.

In 2004, Liu released his directorial debut, the comedy-drama ''Green Hat''. It was followed by the release of ''Ocean Flame'', produced by Simon Yam Tat-wah, in 2008.

Filmography

As screenwriter

As director

As producer

List of Chinese directors

''The following is a list of notable film directors from Mainland China.''

B

*Bu Wancang

C

*Joan Chen , Chinese actress and director.
*Chen Daming, actor-turned-director.
*Chen Kaige , major figure of the Fifth Generation, his epic '''' was the first Chinese film to win Cannes' coveted Palme d'Or.
*Cheng Bugao
*Cai Chusheng , major leftist filmmaker in the 1930s, later fell victim to the Cultural Revolution.
*Cai Shangjun, Chinese screenwriter and director

D

*Dai Sijie , French novelist and director, born in China.
*Diao Yi'nan , screenwriter and director.
*Du Haibin, Chinese documentary filmmaker

F

*Feng Gong , comedic actor and sometimes-director.
*Feng Xiaoning , art designer turned director, part of the 1982 graduating class of the Beijing Film Academy
*Feng Xiaogang , director of popular films, including several "New Year" genre films.
*Fei Mu , major director of the 1930s and 1940s, famed for his masterpiece, ''Spring in a Small Town''.

G

*Gan Xiao'er, Chinese filmmaker who focuses on Christianity.
*Gu Changwei , Chinese cinematographer for many years, has directed two films.
* , Chinese film director and novelist.

H

*He Jianjun , Sixth Generation director.
*He Ping , director known for mixing Chinese and Western tropes.
*He Qun, director of ''Country Teachers'', Golden Rooster winner of 1994.
*Hou Hsiao-Hsien , leading figure in Taiwan's New Wave cinema.
*Hou Yong, cinematographer for Zhang Yimou, among others; director of ''Jasmine Women''.
*Hu Bingliu, , director ''Live in Peace'', Golden Rooster winner of 1998.
*Hu Mei, Fifth Generation director.
*Huang Jianxin , Fifth Generation director, perhaps best known for his film ''The Black Cannon Incident''.
*Ann Hui, , major female director based in Hong Kong, and a leading figure of the Hong Kong New Wave.
*Huo Jianqi

J

*Jia Zhangke , leading figure of China's Sixth Generation.
*Jiang Wen , famous Chinese leading man-turned-director.
*, Sixth generation director.

L

*Lou Ye , Sixth-Generation director whose many run-ins with state authorities have hampered his filmmaking opportunities.
*Li Shaohong , Chinese female director.
* , Sixth-Generation director notable for his film ''Blind Shaft''.
* , one of China's few female directors.
*Liu Bingjian , Sixth-Generation director
*Liu Fendou , primarily a screenwriter for , Liu has recently branched into producing and directing .
*Lu Chuan , Sixth-Generation director notable for the environmental drama ''''.
*Lu Xuechang , Sixth-Generation director.
*Lü Yue , Fifth-Generation cinematographer-turned-director.

M

*Ma-Xu Weibang
*Ma Liwen, female Chinese director.

N

*Ning Hao
*Ning Ying

P

*Peng Xiaolian , female Chinese director known for her Shanghai-based films

S

* , major director who emerged in post-war China with important films like ''Myriad of Lights''.
*Shen Xiling , important director during the 1930s.
*Shi Dongshan , Lianhua Film Company director active in the 1930s and 1940s.
* , major director of the 1950s.
*Shui Hua , major director of the 1950s and 1960s.
*Shi Runjiu , young director and part of the Sixth Generation.
*Sun Daolin , veteran actor and director.
* , one of the most important early directors of Chinese cinema.
*Sun Zhou , Chinese film director with extensive TV experience; known for his collaborations with Gong Li.

T

*Tian Zhuangzhuang , major Fifth Generation director, his 1993 film ''Blue Kite'' was banned by China with Tian forced out of filmmaking for nearly ten years before his return with ''Springtime in a Small Town'' in 2001.

W

*Wan brothers, animators.
**Wan Laiming
**Wan Guchan
**Wan Chaochen
**Wan Dihuan
* , documentary filmmaker.
* , Sixth Generation filmmaker.
*Wang Fen, female Chinese director who debutted with her 2007 film ''The Case''.
*Wang Guangli , modern Chinese director, active since 1997.
*
*Wang Quan'an , Sixth Generation director, and winner of the 2007 Golden Bear for his film, ''Tuya's Marriage''.
*Wang Shuo , famous novelist, screenwriter, and one-time director of the film, ''Father''
*Wang Xiaoshuai , leading Sixth Generation filmmaker.
*Wei Shiyu Louisa Hong Kong based female Chinese filmmaker, script translator, producer and educator.
*Wong Kar-wai , Hong Kong film director, born in Shanghai.
*Wu Tianming , a member of the so-called "Fourth Generation," his role as head of the Xi'an Film Studio meant he often oversaw the works of several of his successors, notably Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige.
*Wu Wenguang , documentary filmmaker.
*Wu Yigong , director active in the 1980s and early 1990s, also a film producer.
*Wu Yonggang , a major director from the 1930s, perhaps best known for his silent film, ''The Goddess''.
*Wu Ziniu , Fifth Generation director.

X

*Xiao Jiang , young female director, debuted with the film ''Electric Shadows''.
*
*Xie Jin , veteran director active since the 1960s.
*Xu Jinglei , popular actress and director.

Y

*Edward Yang , major figure of Taiwan's New Wave cinema, best known for his film ''Yi Yi''.
*Yang Fengliang, Chinese film director in the 1980s and 1990s.
*Ye Daying
*Yin Li
*Yin Lichuan , female director.
*Ying Liang , independent film director.
*Youxin Yang, Chinese female director.
*Yuan Muzhi , actor and director who gained prominence in the 1930s.

Z

*Zhang Guoli , actor turned director.
*Zhang Junxiang
*Zhang Nuanxing , female Chinese director, best known for her work ''Sacrifice of Youth'' .
*Zhang Shichuan
*
*Zhang Yibai
*Zhang Yimou , one of the most successful Fifth Generation directors, Zhang's more recent films reflect a shift towards big budget historical epics.
*Zhang Yuan , major figure of the Sixth Generation
*Zheng Junli
*Zheng Zhengqiu , often considered one of the founding fathers of Chinese cinema, associated with the Mingxing Film Company.
*Zhou Xiaowen , Fifth Generation director.
*Zhu Shilin
*, Sixth Generation Director.

Li Yu (director)

Li Yu is a female Chinese film director and screenwriter. She began her career in entertainment at a young age, serving as a presenter at a local TV station. After college she eventually joined , where she directed television shows, before moving onto documentaries and finally feature films.

Filmography

Li Yang (director)

Li Yang is a -. Though often grouped with the so-called of Chinese filmmakers, he is in fact closer in age to the and in interviews has denied membership with either group, claiming that such labels are only artificial differentiations.

Born in Xi'an, China in 1959, Li studied at the from 1985 to 1987, after which he moved to Germany. There he made several documentary films and spent some time acting on German television before eventually enrolling and graduating from the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne in 1995. In China, however, the film’s critical eye toward the notoriously dangerous mining industry proved controversial and ''Blind Shaft'' was banned by the Beijing Film Bureau. However, neither the precise reasoning nor the length of the ban was made known to Li.

After his ban, Li Yang split his time between Hong Kong and Germany and gave at least one interview where he claimed,

Despite his worries, the ban was eventually lifted and Li was allowed to begin work on his follow up to ''Blind Shaft''. Entitled ''Blind Mountain'' , it debuted at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival in the Prix un certain regard competition and was one of only three Asian films vying for an award at the prestigious event. Like Li's previous film, ''Blind Mountain'' turns a sharply critical eye towards another one of China's continuing social problems, this time the illegal sex slave trade. ''Blind Mountain'' also shares the same realistic style as ''Blind Shaft'' as seen in the latter film's cast of mostly non-professional actors and its use of .

Awards and nominations

*Berlin International Film Festival,
**Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Achievement – ''Blind Shaft''
*Golden Horse Awards,
**Best Screenplay Adapted from Another Source – ''Blind Shaft''
*Tribeca Film Festival,
**Best Narrative Feature – ''Blind Shaft''
*Edinburgh International Film Festival,
**New Director's Award - ''Blind Shaft''
*Hawaii International Film Festival,
**Best Film - ''Blind Shaft''
*Hong Kong International Film Festival,
**Silver Firebird - ''Blind Shaft''
*International Film Festival Bratislava,
**Grand Prix - ''Blind Mountain''
**Special Mention of the Ecumenical Jury - ''Blind Mountain''

Filmography

Li Tie (director)

Li Tie was a Chinese who worked primarily in the . Li was born in 1913 in Guangdong, China and died on 27 September 1996 in Hong Kong.

Between 1936 and 1977 he directed over 70 films. Three of his films were named in the Hong Kong Film Awards' list of the 100 best chinese films of all time. ''In the Face of Demolition'' placed 18th, ''The Purple Hairpin'' placed 51st, and ''Feast of a Rich Family'' , which he co-directed with Lee Sun-Fung, Ng Wui and Lo Ji-Hung, placed 84th.

Huang Jianxin

Huang Jianxin is a Chinese film director. Huang is normally considered part of the fifth generation of Chinese filmmakers , although he distinguished himself by making films focused on urban contemporary life, as opposed to the historical period dramas of his contemporaries.

Biography

Huang was born in Xi'an, though his ancestral hometown was in Hebei. He joined the army at age 16, and enrolled in in 1975. Huang entered Xi'an Film Studio after graduation, evolving from editor, script holder, assistant director to vice director. After training at Beijing Film Academy in 1983, he was elevated to director. He is now the manager of 4th production company of China Film Corporation.

Filmography

Hu Ge (director)

Hu Ge is an amateur movie director in the People's Republic of China who rose to fame through social satire and the Internet. His works, which are videos which can be downloaded from video-sharing sites such as Youtube, and freely distributed by his permission, are viewed by millions. His outrageous humour and his use of innumerable parodies had gained a degree of international attention and drew notices from the Communist Party's .

Biography

Hu Ge grew up in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China.

Hu Ge immediately became well-known by virtually every Chinese netizen since his first short movie "''A Murder Case Caused by a Bun''" in late 2005. His subsequent works are also all well-received.

Techniques

Hu Ge focuses on enhancements through satire in social and cultural realms, reflecting numerous to a backdrop of loosely pieced together current events or well-known footage from big-name films, including ''Harry Potter'', ''The Matrix'', ''Shaolin Soccer'', '''', etc. He has immense focus on elements of parody on multiple levels. The music he uses are usually satirical, be it Chinese instrumentals, Hollywood movie soundtracks, American pop songs or spinoffs of Michael Jackson songs.

Public and Official response

Hu Ge's films, which are distributed freely on the Internet, received widespread attention, and arguably became the most watched video on Chinese video-sharing networks, beating Huang Jianxiang's crazy commentary at the . In January 2006, after the popularizing of Hu's first creation, ''A Murder Case caused by a Bun'', Chen Kaige, director of '''' and subject of Hu's satire, announced plans to take legal action against Hu for apparent copyright violations and defamation. The amateur films became the discussion topics on various Chinese forums, and received overwhelming support from the general public, which led to bad social repercussion against Chen, who later dropped the lawsuit. In late 2006, because of its subtle social commentary that could be interpreted at a political level, Hu's films have gained the attention to the Communist Party's Propaganda Department, in charge of China's media controls. There were talks of a ban in late 2006, with the pretext that Hu's films are too long in length and too intricate in design, that they can no longer be categorized as amateur internet videos. In early 2007, however, after Hu's newest release, ''007 vs. Man in Black'', there are no signs of a ban.

Filmography

*A Murder Case Caused by a Bun , 2005
*The Empire of Spring Transportation , 2006
*The Legend of Suppressing Mt. Birdcage Bandits , 2006
*Mt. Birdcage TV Shopping , 2006
*007 vs. Man in Black , 2007
*007 vs. The Prince of Pork , 2008

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*A City Full of Overtime Employees , 2006

He Ping

He Ping is a film director, whose filmography consists of a hybrid genre of -wuxia movies.

He is an ethnic Manchu whose ancestors were members of the Blue Banners. His mother was the female lead in Communist China's first feature film ''Bridge'' .

Filmography

He Jianjun

He Jianjun is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. A graduate of the Beijing Film Academy, He is considered a leading voice in the so-called "Sixth Generation." He Jianjun began his career under the apprenticeship of some of the Fifth Generation's major figures, notably Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Tian Zhuangzhuang.

He would serve as the assistant director in Zhang's ''Raise the Red Lantern'' , and Tian's ''The Blue Kite'', as well as a screenwriter for Chen Kaige's ''King of the Children'' , before his debut film, ''Red Beads'', was released in 1993 to strong reviews in the west, winning a FIPRESCI award in the 1993 International Film Festival Rotterdam.

Filmography

Feng Gong

Feng Gong is an actor, xiangsheng performer, film director, and screenwriter from Tianjin, China. He is the great grandson of Feng Guozhang, a statesman and warlord of China during the early 20th century.

Partial filmography

* ''Eat Hot Tofu Slowly''

Fei Mu

Fei Mu was a major film director from the pre-Communist era.

Biography

Born in Shanghai, China, Fei Mu is considered by many to be one of the major film directors prior to the in 1949. Known for his artistic style and costume dramas, Fei made his first film, 1933's '''' , at the young age of 27, and he was met with both critical and popular acclaim . Continuing to make films with Lianhua, Fei directed films throughout the 1930s and became a major talent in the industry, with films like 1936's ''Blood on Wolf Mountain'' and 1935's ''Song of China'', a glorification of traditional values that was part of the New Life Movement. Later, ''Song of China'' became one of the few films that had a limited release in the United States.

Fei's legacy as one of China's greatest directors was sealed with his 1948 influential masterpiece ''Spring in a Small Town'' about a love triangle in post-war China . In 2005, ''Spring in a Small Town'' was declared the greatest Chinese films ever made by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association. Fei remained active in this so-called "Second Golden Age" and also directed China's first color film ''Remorse at Death'' , which incorporated Beijing Opera and starred Mei Lanfang.. Following the revolution in 1949, Fei Mu, along with many other artists and intellectuals fled to Hong Kong. There he founded Longma Film Company with Zhu Shilin and Fei Luyi and produced Zhu Shilin's ''The Flower Girl'' .

Following his death in Hong Kong in 1951, Fei Mu and his work fell into obscurity, as much of his filmography was forgotten or ignored on the Mainland, rejected by leftist critics as indicative of rightist ideologies. It was not until the 1980s, when the China Film Archive re-opened after being closed down during the Cultural Revolution did Fei Mu's work find a new audience. Most significant was a new print made by the China Film Archive from the original negative of ''Spring in a Small Town''.

Filmography

Director

Screenwriter

Producer

Diao Yi'nan

Diao Yi'nan is a . A graduate of the Central Academy of Drama in 1992, Diao has worked as a screenwriter with directors Shi Runjiu and . Additionally Diao has directed two films of his own, 2003's '''' and 2007's '''', which premiered in the Un Certain Regard competition at the .

Filmography

As screenwriter

As director

As actor

Cai Shangjun

Cai Shangjun is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. Cai graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 1992. Since then, his major work has been that of a professional screenwriter. Cai was part of a team, along with , Diao Yi'nan, and Liu Fendou, that co-wrote the screenplays for two of Zhang's films: ''Spicy Love Soup'' and '''' . Cai also cowrote a script for Zhang's '''' .

In 2007, Cai directed his first film, ''The Red Awn'', which one the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2007 Pusan International Film Festival.

Filmography

As screenwriter

As director

Cai Chusheng

Cai Chusheng was a film director of the pre-Communist era.

Biography

Born in Shanghai to parents, but raised outside of Guangzhou, Cai Chusheng worked in low-level positions in several small studios during the 1920s, before eventually joining Mingxing Film Company as a director's assistant. Cai did not gain true prominence until he joined the Lianhua Film Company where his role as a leading leftist filmmaker throughout the 1930s and 1940s was cemented. He is perhaps most famous for his film, ''New Women'' , starring Ruan Lingyu in her final role prior to her suicide.

In 1934, Cai's ''Song of the Fisherman'' became the first Chinese film to win an international prize at the Moscow Film Festival.

Cai's post-war film, the collaboration with Zheng Junli ''The Spring River Flows East'' also proved to be a major film in the brief "" of Cinema that followed the end of the Second World War. Following the Communist revolution, Cai worked mainly in administrative tasks, though he did make one major post-1949 film, ''Waves on the Southern Shore'' . As the Cultural Revolution began to gain momentum in the late 1960s, Cai Chusheng, like many artists and intellectuals, became the target of persecution, which led to his early death in 1968.

In Stanley Kwan's 1992 biopic of Ruan Lingyu, ''Centre Stage'', Cai Chusheng is portrayed by Hong Kong actor Tony Leung Ka Fai.

Selected filmography

Bu Wancang

Bu Wancang was a prolific film director and screenwriter active between the 1920s and the 1960s. He is also known by his Cantonese name, Baak Maan Chong, and his English name, Richard Poh. He was born in Anhui.

Career

Originally a member of the Shanghai cinema scene, Bu worked for several studios before becoming a major director for the Mingxing Film Company. By 1931, Bu moved to Mingxing's rival, , where he directed such films as ''Love and Duty'' and ''Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood'' .

As the war with Japan intensified Bu made several films with subtle patriotic themes, most notably 1939's ''''. Once Japanese control over Shanghai was complete, however, Bu was eventually forced to make several propaganda films for the occupiers, notably 1942's ''''. After the war, he was ostracized by his colleagues for these films, causing him to move to Hong Kong in 1948 where he continued to make films until his retirement.

Filmography

1920s

*''Yu jie bing qing''
*''Wei hun qi''
*''Liang xin fu huo''
*''Hu bian chun meng''
*''A Couple in Name Only''
*''Xiao zhen tan''
*''Mei ren guan''
*''Tong xin jie''
*''Nu ling fu chou ji''
*''Liang ai zheng feng''
*''Ai qin jia''

1930s

*''Hai tian qing chou''
*''Ge nu hen''
*''Fu zi ying xiong''
*''A Spray of Plum Blossoms''
*''Peach Blossom Weeps Tears of Blood''
*''Love and Duty''
*''Xu gu du chun meng''
*''Ren dao''
*''Three Modern Women''
*''Mu xing zhi guang''
*''Huang jin shi dai''
*''Kai ge''
*''Xin ren dao''
*''Qi gai qian jin''
*''''
*''''

1940s

*''Xiao xiang ye yu, xi shi
*''Bi yu zan''
*''Ningwu Pass''
*''''
*''''
*''Bo ai''
*''Biao zhun fu ren''
*''Yu jia nu''
*''Hong lou meng''
*''The Soul of China''
*''Da liang shan en chou ji''

1950s

*''Nu ren yu lao hu''
*''Hui mie''
*''Fu ren xin''
*''Man yuan chun se''
*''Hua shen yan ying''
*''Qi zi mei''
*''Bi xue huang hua''
*''Zai chun hua''
*''Tang bo hu yu qiu xiang''
*''Yu ge''
*''Chang xiang''
*''San zi mei''
*''Ye lai xiang''
*''Yi ye feng liu''
*''Dou fu xi shi''
*''Stolen Love''

1960s

*''Dai jia chun xin''
*''Kuer liulang ji''
*''Tong chuang yi meng''
*''Liang dai nu xing''
*''Xi xiang feng''
*''Hong nan lu nu''
*''Di er wen''
*''Mang mu de ai qing''
*''Zhao wu niang''