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He was born in Hong Kong, in 1957. After studying Communications, he joined the television station TVB as a trainee actor, but soon moved to the production training division. He found himself working as assistant to several of the young directors who went on to launch a «new wave« in Hong Kong cinema, including Ann Hui, Yim Ho and Patrick Tam. Kwan directed his own first feature in 1985. His second film, Love Unto Waste, was invited into competition at the Locarno Film Festival, and his third, Rouge, won him a substantial international audience. Red Rose, White Rose, told the story of a young man torn between his love for two very different women. Kwan’s next project was unusual¯and unusually personal. He directed, scripted and appeared in Yang & Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema, a film essay that argued that Chinese cinema has dealt more frankly and provocatively with questions of gender and sexuality than any other national cinema. Kwan builds his case with film clips and interviews, including one with his mother in which he quietly comes out to the viewer as a gay man. His 1991 film Actress, won the Best Actress prize at the Berlin Film Festival and, in 1997, Hold You Tight won both the Alfred Bauer prize for innovation and the Teddy Award for best lesbian/gay feature film, again in Berlin. His last film, Lan yu, was selected for the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to his feature films, he has also directed shorts, documentaries and a short play, which was staged in both Hong Kong and London. |
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International
