10 most influential Chinese filmmakers

Along with the rapid commercialisation and industrialisation of China’s film industry, the popularity, influence, and commercial value of a filmmaker may have also changed over the past a few years on the mainland.

The Chinese WeChat social media account, Yiqipaidianying, which focuses on film industry news, recently published a list of the top 100 filmmakers in China, based on the total box office takings of their films released since 2005, the average scores of their top five films from major film rating websites, and the media coverage the filmmakers and their films received.

The top five ranked filmmakers on the list are 1. Stephen Chow, 2. Tsui Hark, 3. Ang Lee, 4. Jiang Wen and 5. Feng Xiaogang. Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige are ranked No 6 and No 7, respectively, while Wu Jing, the director of Wolf Warrior 2, is ranked No 10.

The top 10 filmmakers in China

1. Stephen Chow

Award-winning Hong Kong filmmaker Chow, 55, is best known around the world as the star and director of the hit action comedies Shaolin Soccer, released in 2001, and 2004’s Kung Fu Hustle.

Both these films combine kung fu and his trademark slapstick humour, known in Cantonese as mo lei tou, or “nonsensical” – a genre dubbed as “silly talk” in the West. These films includes surprise and incongruous elements, such as illogical parodies and sudden, strange dialogue and action.

He also co-wrote and directed the 2016 fantasy romantic comedy The Mermaid, about a businessman who falls in love with a mermaid who is sent to assassinate him, which is the second-highest grossing film in mainland China after Wolf Warrior 2.

2. Tsui Hark

The Vietnamese-born Chinese film director, who moved to Hong Kong as a teenager, is best known for his epic, martial arts action films, including 1991’s Once Upon a Time in China, starring Jet Li, 2005’s Seven Swords starring Donnie Yen, and 2014’s The Taking of Tiger Mountain.

Tsui, who studied film in the US, is regarded as a pioneering filmmaker and someone who helped to revitalise Hong Kong martial art movies.

He has been recognised for his work, including winning 2015’s best director award at China’s Golden Rooster Awards and a 2017 lifetime achievement award at this year’s Asian Film Awards.

3. Ang Lee

Taiwanese-born Lee, who also studied film in the US, is the first Asian winner of the American Academy Award for best director for his 2005 romantic drama Brokeback Mountain. He won his second best director Oscar in 2013 for the fantasy drama, Life of Pi. He has directed a great range of different types of films, including 2007’s romantic thriller Lust, Caution, 2000’s fantasy action drama Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and two early successes – both comedy dramas – 1994’s Eat Drink Man Woman, and 1993’s The Wedding Banquet.