In the 80s and 90s, Stanley Kwan affirmed his talent and thinking with new, realistic perspectives and was one of the directors who influenced the Hong Kong New Wave cinema.
Stanley Kwan was born in 1957 in Hong Kong (China). He started his filmmaking career at TVB in the 70s and studied with many famous directors at that time, including female director Ann Hui On Wah – one of the most typical representatives of the Hong Kong New Wave.
The first film in Guan Jinping’s career was Woman (1985) with the participation of Chow Yun Fat which immediately received great echo with 9 nominations from the 5th Hong Kong Film Awards..
Then with Love Unto Waste(1986) with the cast of Chow Yun Fat, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Irene Wan Bik-ha or Rouge (1988) joined by Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, then Red Rose White Rose (1994) …, they brought about many awards and quickly established Guan Jinping’s position as one of the best Chinese directors of that period.
His works deeply describe the deepest nature of people, exposing them to adversity, challenges from prejudice and social pressure, conveyed in a romantic but no less tragic way through his love stories.
In addition, Stanley Kwan is also appreciated for his unique artistic style, most notably his talent for exploring the purest, most complex and most contradictory aspects of women rather than conventional depictions. . Many experts also call his style as “women’s cinema”.
“I always think that female characters are more potential. They may be oppressed, but somehow at the crucial moment they become strong, stronger than the male characters” – director Stanley Kwan.
Stanley Kwan’s deep feminine films have profound impact on the public, not only because of the unique and soft art in each scene, but also makes viewers sympathize and feel sorry for the grim fates of women in the former society. Also with his works, people even more fancy female stars such as: Anita Mui Yim-fong, Maggie Cheung Man-yuk, Joan Chen or Sammi Cheng Sau-man.
By the early 2000s, Stanley Kwan’s reputation has never cooled down, as he created many other excellent works, such as Lan Yu (2001) or Everlasting Regret (2005). Especially Lan Yu (2001) with the acting of two stars Hu Jun and Liu Ye created a blast throughout Asia and won many prestigious nominations and awards at home and abroad.
In 2011, Stanley Kwan was selected by Golden Horse Film Festival as 11th among the 20 best directors in Chinese cinema history, alongside great names such as: Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Wong Kar Wai, Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Jia Zhangke, John Woo Yu-Sen, Tsui Harka, Stephen Chaw…
The organizing committee of the 2nd Da Nang Asian Film Festival hopes that director Stanley Kwan will have a good time in Da Nang, sharing valuable experiences for Vietnamese cinema, as well as with other juries. selecting a worthy work to for the highest position in the category of Vietnamese film competition.
Some noted film awards in the glorious career of director Stanley Kwan
Love Unto Waste (1986)
– 6th Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay
Rouge (1988)
– 1988 Golden Horse Award: Best Leading Actress
– Asia-Pacific Film Festival: Best Leading Actress
– 8th Hong Kong Film Awards: Best Director, Best Leading Actress and Best Leading Actor, Best Film Editing and Best Score
Center Stage (1991)
– 1991 Golden Horse Award: Best Leading Actress, Best Cinematography; nominated for Best Film and Best Director
– 42nd Berlin Film Festival: Silver Bear Award for Best Leading Actress
Lan Yu (2001)
– Cannes Film Festival 2001: Nominated for the Special Perspective Award
– Golden Horse Awards 2001: Best Leading Actor, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing, Audience Choice Award
– Vesoul Asian Film Festival 2002: Best Director
