Johnnie To

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Johnnie To
杜琪峯
Johnnie To 2022.jpg
To in an interview for Septet: The Story of Hong Kong in 2022
Born (1955-04-22) 22 April 1955 (age 69)
Sham Shui Po, Kowloon, British Hong Kong
Occupations
  • Film director
  • film producer
  • screenwriter
Years active1972–present
Notable work Full list
Spouse
Wong Po-ling
​
(m. 1978)​
Awards Full list
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 杜琪峯
Simplified Chinese 杜琪峰
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin Dù Qífēng
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutping dou6 kei4 fung1

Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong filmmaker. Popular in his native Hong Kong, [1] To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in the West he is best known for his action and crime movies, which have earned him critical respect [2] [3] and a cult following, which includes American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino. [4]

Contents

To's biggest international successes include Breaking News , Election , Election 2 (a.k.a. Triad Election), Exiled , Mad Detective and Drug War ; these films have appeared in a number of international film festivals, been distributed theatrically in France and the United States, and been widely sold to foreign countries.

His films, often made in collaboration with the same group of actors, screenwriters and cinematographers, frequently explore themes of friendship, fate and the changing face of Hong Kong society. [5] [6] Sometimes described as "multifaceted and chameleonic" [3] due to his ability to switch tones and genres between movies, To is nonetheless seen as having a consistent style, which involves mixing subdued realism and social observation with highly stylised visual and acting elements. [5] To has cited King Hu as the director who has influenced his work the most. [7]

To heads the Hong Kong–based production company Milkyway Image with his frequent co-director Wai Ka-fai.

Career

To began his career at age 17 as a messenger for the Hong Kong television studio TVB. [1] From there To moved up the ladder, working as an executive producer and director for TV shows starting in 1973. In 1978, he shot his first theatrical feature, but continued working in television. In 1983, he directed and screen-wrote the critically acclaimed The Legend of the Condor Heroes, a dramatised TV series base on the martial art novel of the same name by Jin Yong.

While working as an assistant TV director during the Shaw Studios era he directed All About Ah-Long (1989), starring Chow Yun-fat. The film became one of the biggest box office hits that year. In 1988, he co-directed The Big Heat , his first action movie. The film was produced by Tsui Hark. The end of the 1980s also saw some of To's biggest commercial successes, the vast majority of which were comedies. His 1988 film The Eighth Happiness was that year's highest-grossing movie. [8]

In 1996, To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-fai formed Milkyway Image, a production house specialising in cost-efficient independent films made by To and Wai, as well as their frequent collaborators from Law Wing-cheung to scriptwriter Yau Nai-hoi.

To was appointed to the Hong Kong Arts Development Council in 2004 and soon after chaired its Film and Media Arts Group. [9]

In May 2011, To served as a jury member at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. [10]

His film Life Without Principle (2011) was selected as the Hong Kong's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 85th Academy Awards, [11] but did not make the shortlist. [12]

In 2016, To served as the Jury President for the 10th Asian Film Awards. [13]

In June 2017, To was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [14]

In June 2019, To was announced as the Jury President for the 56th Golden Horse Awards, but resigned his position in September. [15] [16]

In February 2023, To served as a jury member at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival. [17]

Festivals and awards

Commercially successful in his native Hong Kong, To's films have regularly appeared at international festivals, most notably in Europe and North America. Six of To's films have been featured at the Cannes Film Festival: Breaking News premiered as an Out-of-Competition midnight screening in 2004; [18] Election was shown in Competition in 2005; [19] its sequel, Election 2 (a.k.a. Triad Election) was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2006, and Triangle was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2007; Vengeance competed for the prestigious Palme d'Or in 2009; Blind Detective was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2013.

At the Berlin International Film Festival, Sparrow was shown in Competition in 2008.

At the Venice International Film Festival, Throw Down was screened Out-of-Competition in 2004; Exiled was shown in Competition at the festival in 2006; Mad Detective was shown in Competition in 2007; Life Without Principle was shown in Competition in 2011.

In North America, To's films have been consistently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Mission , Fulltime Killer , PTU , Breaking News, Throw Down and Mad Detective all screened between 1999 and 2007. In 2006, Election, Election 2, and Exiled were screened.

In 2005, To received the "Time Machine Career Achievement Award" at the Festival de Cine de Sitges, Europe's most prestigious film festival specializing in genre films. To was also honoured as a "Filmmaker in Focus" of the 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam. In 2009, while Vengeance competed at Cannes, To was made an officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture in recognition of his films. [20]

The annual Hong Kong International Film Festival held its 45th edition in April 2021 and To directed a segment of the 2020 anthology film Septet: The Story of Hong Kong . The other filmmakers who directed segments in the anthology are Sammo Hung, Ann Hui, Patrick Tam, Tsui Hark, Yuen Woo-ping and Ringo Lam. The short films were shot entirely on 35mm film, each of them touching on a nostalgic and moving story set across different time periods, with every one being an ode to the city. [21]

In 2024, To was appointed Jury member at the 2024 Tokyo International Film Festival for its section 'International competition'. [22]

Filmography

Monographs

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References

  1. 1 2 Axmaker, Sean (19 February 2004). "Karma Chameleon: A talk with Johnnie To (Page 1)". Green Cine. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  2. ↑ "Rotten Tomatoes Profile". Rottentomatoes.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Senses of Cinema: The Belated Auteurism of Johnnie To". Archived from the original on 30 March 2009.
  4. ↑ Taylor, Ella (18 August 2009). "Quentin Tarantino: The Inglourious Basterds Interview". Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 22 June 2013.
  5. 1 2 "Interview with Johnnie To". Cineaste. 22 April 1955. Archived from the original on 1 January 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  6. ↑ "Review of Exiled for the Chicago Reader, by Fred Camper". Fredcamper.com. 7 September 2007. Archived from the original on 15 July 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  7. ↑ "Johnnie To: 'I just happened to be assigned to the drama department'". FilmDoo. 18 May 2018. Archived from the original on 28 June 2018. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  8. ↑ "Hong Kong Cinemagic: Johnnie To". Hkcinemagic.com. Archived from the original on 13 May 2011. Retrieved 18 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Johnnie K F To". Hong Kong Baptist University . Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  10. ↑ "THE JURY OF THE 64TH FESTIVAL DE CANNES". Festival de Cannes. 5 May 2011. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "Greece picks 'Unfair World' for Oscar race". The Hollywood Reporter . 21 September 2012. Archived from the original on 20 March 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2012.
  12. ↑ Morgan, David (21 December 2012). "9 foreign films on Oscar shortlist". CBS News . Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  13. ↑ Shackleton, Liz (3 February 2016). "'The Assassin' leads nods for Asian Film Awards". Screen International . Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  14. ↑ Stedman, Alex (28 June 2017). "Academy Invites Record 774 New Members". Variety . Archived from the original on 24 April 2018. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  15. ↑ Chu, Karen (20 September 2019). "Hong Kong Director Johnnie To Resigns as Golden Horse Awards Jury President Amid Beijing Boycott". The Hollywood Reporter . Archived from the original on 9 April 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  16. ↑ "Wang Toon will succeed as new Jury President". Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (in Chinese (Taiwan)). 19 September 2019. Archived from the original on 9 May 2024. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
  17. ↑ Goodfellow, Melanie (1 February 2023). "Berlin Jury Announced; Includes Golshifteh Farahani, Johnnie To & '12 Years A Slave', 'Babylon', 'She Said' Casting Director Francine Maisler". Deadline Hollywood . Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  18. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Breaking News". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  19. ↑ "Festival de Cannes: Election". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2009.
  20. ↑ ADC congratulates Johnnie To awarded the Officer of the National Order of Arts and Letters by French Ministry of Culture / Press Releases / Information Centre / Hong Kong Arts Development Council Archived 21 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ "Must-watch Chinese film premieres at the 2021 Hong Kong International Film Festival". 2 April 2021. Archived from the original on 25 April 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2021. igafencu.com. 2021-04-07
  22. ↑ Abid Rahman (1 August 2024). "Tokyo Film Festival Reveals 2024 Competition Jury Members". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 8 September 2024.
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