CHEN Kuo-fu

Born in Taichung in 1958, Chen Kuo-fu is a famous director, scriptwriter and producer. Chen is known as the forerunner of the Taiwan New Mainstream Cinema Movement and has been the most influential figure to the Chinese film market in the recent two decades.

In 2000, Chen became the head of the production unit of the Asian branch of Columbia Pictures. Here he participated in the filmmaking of productions including Kung Fu Hustle(dir. Stephen Chow, 2004), Big Shot’s Funeral (dir. Feng Xiaogang, 2005) and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (dir. Ang Lee, 2000), and has worked as the producer of 20 30 40 (dir. Sylvia Chang, 2004), Warriors of Heaven and Earth (dir. He Ping, 2003), Kekexili (dir. Lu Chuan, 2004), etc. In 2002, he directed and produced Double Vision, which broke the box office record of thrillers in Taiwan cinema. Double Vision challenged the international cinema’s stereotyped impression of Taiwan films and won many nominations at Golden Horse Award and Hong Kong Film Awards. Chen Kuo-fu continuously challenges the standard of sinophile film industry and has been dedicated in encourage communication between Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and Mainland China.

After Chen’s focus of work moved to Mainland China, he keeps discovering new talents and exploring new genres. He produced 13 films including Assembly (dir. Feng Xiaogang, 2007), The Message (dir. Chen Kuo-fu and Gao Qunshu, 2009) and Aftershock (dir. Feng Xiaogang, 2010). 9 of them achieve the box office of over 100 million Yuan. In 2013, Chen Kuo-fu founded CKF Pictures, and continues to discover the originality of cinema and possibilities of film market.

Philippe BOBER

Philippe Bober is a French producer, who is known for discovering and nurturing new talent. He started Coproduction Office in 1987. As a producer, Philippe Bober was involved in the early films of Lars von Trier, Lou Ye and Carlos Reygadas including Europa(1991), The Kingdom(1994), Suzhou River(2000), Japon(2002) and Battle in Heaven(2005). He also has been working with Roy Anderson, Jessica Hausner and Ruben Östlund since their feature film debuted. Among Bober’s recent productions, The Square (dir. Ruben Östlund, 2017) won Palme d’Or, Turist (dir. Ruben Östlund, 2014) won Un Certain Regard Jury Prize at Cannes film Festival, and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (dir. Roy Andersson, 2014) won Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival.

LIAO Pen-jung

Liao Pen-jung is a senior cinematographer in Taiwan. He used to work for Central Motion Pictures Corporation and currently is the council member of Society of Cinematographers and teaches at the Kunshan University.

Liao began his career in cinema in the 1970s. During late 1980s to 1990s, he started to work with young filmmakers and filmed The Digger (dir. He Ping, 1988), Banana Paradise (dir. Wang Toon, 1989), Green Green Leaves of Home (dir.Chou Yan-chi, 1993) and Tropical Fish (dir. Chen Yu-hsun, 1995). In 1991, Liao worked with Tsai Ming-liang on his directorial debut Rebels of the Neon God and started a long-term collaboration with him. In 2003, Liao won the Best Cinematography and Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker Award with the film The Missing (dir. Lee Kang-sheng, 2003).

Peyman YAZDANIAN

Peyman Yazdanian was born in 1969 in Tehran. He is a is a famous Iranian pianist and music composer. As a composer, he has written over forty pieces for solo piano and has composed for both national and foreign featured films. He has also written original soundtracks for plays and multimedia.

As a film composer, he has collaborated in numbers of Iranian featured films with internationally well-known masters such as Abbas Kiarostami, Jafar Panahi, Kamal Tabrizi, Khosro Masumi, Masood Kimiai, Asghar Farhadi and etc. Yazdanian also has numbers of foreign featured films in his work list including Lost in Beijing (2007) and Buddha Mountain (2010) by Li Yu, as well as Love & Bruises (2011) and Summer Palace (2006) by Lou Ye. His works with Lou Ye won twice at Golden Horse Award: Mystery (2012) for the Best Film Music at the 49th, and Spring Fever (2009) for the Best Original Music at the 47th.

SU Chao-bin

Su Chao-bin, director and scriptwriter. He was born in Tainan in 1970 and graduated from National Chiao Tung University.

In 1999, Su wrote for the romance film The Cabbie which got nominated for the Best Script at Golden Horse Awards. In 2002, he directed his debut Better Than Sex and wrote the script of Three. In 2006, Su wrote and directed Silk, which was nominated for Best Director and Best Script at Golden Horse Awards. Silk also got into the Cannes Film Festival’s screening programme. His Reign of Assassins (2010) won Best Director at Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. Later, Su worked for John Woo in The Crossing (Part I &II) as the scriptwriter.

YANG Fudong

Born in 1971 in Beijing, Yang Fudong received a BFA in oil painting from the China Academy of Art. Yang is considered as the most well-known and influential artist in China.

Yang often stages contradictions between present social conditions, classical Chinese cultural tropes, and modern film culture to explore broader historical, social, and political themes. Featuring fragmented, overlapping, and abstract storylines, his film style is notable for its long-suspended sequences and frequent use of black-and-white.

Yang’s first feature, An Estranged Paradise(1997-2002) has been exhibited in Documenta Kassel. Starting in 2003, Yang embarked on his most epic and celebrated work, the five-part opus Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest(2003–07).

In 2004, he won the Guggenheim Hugo Boss Prize, became the third Chinese artist ever to win this honor. Yang has participated in prestigious international art events and institutions including Guggenheim Museum, New York; Foundation Louis Vuitton, Paris; La Biennale de Lyon and International Art Exhibition Venice Biennale, etc.

Zhou Hao

Zhou Hao is a documentary director and used to be a cameraman at Xinhua News Agency, Southern Weekly and 21st Century Business Report.

In 2001, Zhou Hao started documentary filmmaking. In 2002, his debut Houjie was selected by Yun Fest, Shanghai Biennale and Guangzhou Image Triennial. In 2006, Zhou’s Senior Year won the Humanitarian Award for Best Documentary at the Hong Kong International Festival. Zhou’s documentary looks deeply into different perspectives of the society. His film Using (2007) showcases the subtle relationship between the director and the person being filmed. In 2015, Zhou became the first director to win Best Documentary at Golden Horse Awards two years in a row with Cotton (2014) and The Chinese Mayor (2015). Chinese Mayor has also won the Special Jury Prize of World Cinema – Documentary at Sundance Film Festival.