Wong Kar-Wai Masterclass

WHO IS HE?
The recent reinvigoration of Chinese cinema has produced a host of fabulous talents, but none has had the impact of Wong Kar Wai. In films like Chungking Express, In The Mood For Love and the forthcoming 2046, Wong Kar Wai's combination of opulent cinematography and characters wracked with longing have made him the darling of hip film students, film festivals and independent cinema bookers the world over.

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WHEN WAS HE WORKING?
Born in Shanghai in 1958, Wong Kar Wai's family moved to Hong Kong five years later, minus his brother and sister: he wouldn't see them again for ten years. After graduating in graphic design from the Hong Kong Polytechnic School in 1980, Wong Kar Wai became a television production assistant. After working on several television drama series, he drifted into scriptwriting, at first for TV and then later for films, writing ten scripts for others before making his directorial debut in 1988, aged 30, with As Tears Go By. The film's Mean Streets-style plot was less than original, but displayed much promise in the acting, energetic hand-held camerawork and stop-motion action scenes (later used to great effect in Chungking Express), and won him a place in the Critics Week in Cannes, 1989. Disaffection with outside interference drove Wong Kar Wai to become the producer on all his subsequent films. His next film, Days Of Being Wild, which featured several of Hong Kong's beautiful and popular young stars, won five Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. He embarked upon an ambitious dystopian action movie, but the production became so distended he took a break to make Chungking Express, which subsequently became a cult hit. Wong Kar Wai quickly rose from cult status when Happy Together (1997) the story of two gay Chinese men recovering from a separation, and In The Mood For Love (2000) won Best Director and acting prizes at Cannes. 2046 is a sequel of sorts to In The Mood. Currently, Wong Kar Wai is in pre-production on The Lady From Shanghai.