Sam Voutas

Last updated

Sam Voutas
Born
Canberra, Australia
Other namesSima You
Occupation(s)Actor, film director, screenwriter,

Sam Voutas is an Australian actor and independent filmmaker. He is best known for writing and directing Red Light Revolution , China's "first sex shop comedy" [1] which was nominated for Best Unproduced Screenplay at the 2008 Australian Inside Film Awards, [2] showcased at The Santa Barbara International Film Festival and won the audience award at The Terracotta Far East Film Festival. Voutas played Durdin in Lu Chuan's acclaimed [3] City of Life and Death , a Chinese film about The Rape of Nanjing. The film won Best Director (Lu Chuan) and Best Cinematographer (Cao Yu) Awards at the 4th Asian Film Awards in 2010. [4] Voutas wrote and directed the documentary The Last Breadbox , [5] featuring Beijing taxi drivers in the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games.

Contents

Career

Voutas was born in Canberra, Australia [6] and is of Greek ancestry. [7] His mother is from Melbourne and his father Anthony is from Kastania. [6] While his mother was an official in the Australian Public Service, the family lived in China from 1986 to 1989. Voutas returned to China in 2005 and speaks Mandarin fluently.

He graduated from The Victorian College of the Arts.

Red Light Revolution was originally written in English, translated into Chinese, then that version was re-translated to reflect the Beijing slang hua . [7] It was released in China on Tudou in 2011, with producer Melanie Ansley commenting that "We wanted to make a film that might have challenged censors, and if that was the case we were shutting ourselves off from television and cinema. I think the internet offers a place for stuff that takes a little more risk." It won the People's Choice Award at the Singapore International Film Festival's Silver Screen Awards in 2011.

In 2017, Sam directed King of Peking based on his original screenplay that he had been inspired to write based on his memories of life in Beijing in the 90's and the upcoming birth of his child which had got him thinking about the pressures of fatherhood. [8]

Voutas has spoken in interviews [2] about film censorship in China, saying "I'd love to keep making movies [in China], my dilemma is whether a script can be passed by the censors without having its wings clipped. My fear is that increasingly censors are the directors of films, and that directors and producers, fearing cuts, then self-censor themselves from the get-go. That's an environment that isn't too conducive to creativity in general. So perhaps my next film will be about censors themselves and the final cut will run exactly zero seconds long."

Filmography

YearFilmRole
2002The Last BreadboxDirector/Writer
2004Crash Test171096/Sala
2006Shanghai BrideDirector/Editor
2006Watch MeActor (Taku the freak boy), Writer/Editor/Producer
2007Dragon Sons Phoenix Daughters (TV)Director
2008Foreign DevilsActor (Zach)
2009 City of Life and Death Actor (Durdin) (as You Sima)
2009 Gasp Actor (Nick)
2009New Beijing: Reinventing a CityCinematographer
2010Walking the DeadActor (Charles)
2010East West Rain aka Dong feng yu – China (original title)Actor (Voice of Smith)
2010 Tiger Team: The Mountain of the 1000 Dragons  [ de ]Camera
2010Red Light RevolutionActor (Jack Deroux), director, writer, editor
2011Legend of Jie ZhenguoActor (Van Der Sa) as You Sima
2012Roulette CityCinematographer
2012 The Amazing Race: China Rush (TV series)Camera operator
2014 (Completed)(Unreleased) Empires of the Deep Actor (Papos)
2014Operation Ice (Short)Writer
2015Land of the DynastyActor
2016Mr Dead PlanetActor
2017King of PekingWriter, Director
2020False ColoursActor (Warren)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinema of China</span>

The cinema of China is the filmmaking and film industry of the Chinese mainland under the People's Republic of China, one of three distinct historical threads of Chinese-language cinema together with the cinema of Hong Kong and the cinema of Taiwan. China is the home of the largest movie and drama production complex and film studios in the world, the Oriental Movie Metropolis and Hengdian World Studios. In 2012 the country became the second-largest market in the world by box office receipts. In 2016, the gross box office in China was CN¥45.71 billion. China has also become a major hub of business for Hollywood studios.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernardo Bertolucci</span> Italian film director and screenwriter (1941–2018)

Bernardo Bertolucci was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in Italian cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved international acclaim. With The Last Emperor (1987) he became the first Italian filmmaker to win the Academy Award for Best Director, and he received many other accolades including a BAFTA Award, a César Award, two Golden Globes, a Golden Lion in 2007, and an Honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2011.

<i>The Last Emperor</i> 1987 biographical film by Bernardo Bertolucci

The Last Emperor is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted from Puyi's 1964 autobiography, and independently produced by Jeremy Thomas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zhang Yimou</span> Chinese filmmaker (born 1950)

Zhang Yimou is a Chinese filmmaker. A leading figure of China's Fifth Generation directors, he made his directorial debut in 1988 with Red Sorghum, which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

<i>Farewell My Concubine</i> (film) 1993 film directed by Chen Kaige

Farewell My Concubine is a 1993 Chinese-Hong Kong epic historical drama film directed by Chen Kaige, starring Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi. Adapted for the screen by Lu Wei, based on the novel by Lilian Lee, the film is set in politically tumultuous 20th-century China, from the early days of the Republic of China to the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. It chronicles the troubled relationships between two lifelong friends, the Peking opera actors Cheng Dieyi (Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang), and Xiaolou's wife Juxian (Gong).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chang Chen</span> Taiwanese actor (born 1976)

Chang Chen is a Taiwanese actor. He is best known for his roles in A Brighter Summer Day (1991), Happy Together (1997), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Three Times (2005), Brotherhood of Blades (2014), The Assassin (2015) and The Soul (2021). For his performance in The Soul, he won Best Leading Actor prize at the 58th Golden Horse Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chen Kaige</span> Chinese filmmaker

Chen Kaige is a Chinese filmmaker. A leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese directors, Chen is known for his visual flair and epic storytelling. Chen won the Palme d'Or at 1993 Cannes Film Festival and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Award in 1993 for directing Farewell My Concubine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liu Ye (actor)</span> Chinese actor

Liu Ye is a Chinese actor. He made his feature film debut in Postmen in the Mountains (1999), and later on won recognition through critically acclaimed film Lan Yu (2001), which earned him the Best Actor award at the Golden Horse Awards. His other notable works include the film Cock and Bull (2016), as well as the television series Blood Color Romance (2005) and All Quiet in Peking (2014).

<i>Kekexili: Mountain Patrol</i> 2004 film by Lu Chuan

Kekexili: Mountain Patrol is a 2004 Chinese film directed by Lu Chuan that depicts the struggle between vigilante rangers and bands of poachers in the remote Tibetan region of Kekexili. It was inspired by the documentary Balance by Peng Hui.

<i>In the Heat of the Sun</i> 1994 Chinese film

In the Heat of the Sun is a 1994 Chinese film directed and written by Jiang Wen. The film is based loosely on author Wang Shuo's novel Wild Beast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yu Nan</span> Chinese actress

Yu Nan is a Chinese actress. Born in Dalian, Yu Nan studied at the Beijing Film Academy, where she graduated in 1999.

<i>City of Life and Death</i> 2009 Chinese war film by Lu Chuan

City of Life and Death is a 2009 Chinese drama film written and directed by Lu Chuan, marking his third feature film. The film deals with the Battle of Nanjing and the following massacre committed by the Japanese army during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The film is also known as Nanking! Nanking! or Nanjing! Nanjing!. The film was released in China on April 22, 2009, and became a major box office success in the country, earning CN¥150 million in its first two and a half weeks alone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lu Chuan</span>

Lu Chuan is a Chinese filmmaker. One of China's Sixth Generation directors, he is known for his films Kekexili: Mountain Patrol (2004), City of Life and Death (2009), and The Last Supper (2012).

Gao Xiaosong is a Chinese musician, talk show host, and film director. He rose to fame in the 1990s as a campus folk songwriter and later became a prominent entertainment executive and media personality. From 2015 to 2021, Gao served as Chairman of the Alibaba Entertainment Strategic Committee and AliMusic. In September 2021, he was blacklisted in China, with his talk shows removed from platforms, reportedly due to his "historical nihilism" and pro-Western views.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vasoon Animation</span>

Vasoon Animation is a privately owned Chinese animation studio that was established in Beijing in 1992.

The Beijing International Film Festival, abbreviated BJIFF, is a film festival in Beijing, China. Founded in 2011, along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of China's two biggest film festivals.

The 9th Beijing College Student Film Festival was held from 22 April to 26 May 2002 in Beijing, China.

The 12th Beijing College Student Film Festival took place in Beijing, China in May 2005. Kekexili: Mountain Patrol was the biggest winner, receiving two awards, including Best Director and Grand Prix Award. Xia Yu won Best Actor for his performance in Waiting Alone, and Zhang Jingchu for her role in Huayao Bride In Shangri-la. Golden Rooster-winner Lu Chuan's Kekexili: Mountain Patrol won Best Director Award, and A Story of Dun Zi was declared Best Film Award.

Cao Yu is a Chinese cinematographer best known for his work on City of Life and Death, Kekexili: Mountain Patrol and See You Tomorrow. As a cinematographer, he became famous for his three collaborations with director Lu Chuan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">11th Beijing International Film Festival</span> Film festival in Beijing China

The 11th Beijing International Film Festival was held in Beijing, China. Hosted by the Beijing Municipal Government and the China Media Group, the festival opened on September 21 with the Chinese 2021 film The Battle at Lake Changjin by Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark and Dante Lam. The festival was originally scheduled to be held from August 14 to 21, but was postponed due to the spread of Corona 19 delta mutation in China.

References

  1. ↑ "Sex, toys, action! Comedy spotlights China's adult shops - CNN.com". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  2. 1 2 Colwell, Jessica (11 November 2011). "Interview: Director Sam Voutas discusses Red Light Revolution, sex toys, and the Chinese film industry". Shanghaiist. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  3. ↑ "City of Life and Death". The Times. 16 April 2010. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  4. ↑ "City-of-Life-and-Death - Cast, Crew, Director and Awards - NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2011. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "The Last Breadbox (2002)". IMDb.com. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  6. 1 2 "Sam Voutas: A Fellow Greek Makes it in China". Hollywood.GreekReporter.com. 2 March 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  7. 1 2 Edwards, Dan (1 January 1970). "Revelling in the Red Light Revolution: An Interview with Sam Voutas | Dan Edwards". Academia.edu. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
  8. ↑ Meet King of Peking director Sam Voutas, 13 August 2017, retrieved 9 March 2021
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.