Tony Leung Chiu-wai, a cinematic giant widely regarded as one of the most accomplished actors in Chinese-language cinema, has been entrusted to preside over the main competition jury at the prestigious 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, which kicks off on June 12. With a career spanning over four decades and an impressive resume of over 100 screen credits, Leung has collaborated with some of the region's most beloved auteurs, including Wong Kar-wai, Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee, John Woo, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Tran Anh Hung.
In a heartfelt video message shared upon accepting the invitation, Leung said, "Cinema is the art of dreaming, and Shanghai is the very vessel on which the Chinese film dream sets sail." He extended his warm greetings and an invitation to filmmakers and audiences worldwide, adding, "I still have a few tickets left. Will you come with me?"
Leung's illustrious career began in 1982 and took off the following year with his screen debut. He rose through Hong Kong's TVB before becoming a fixture of the territory's second wave and post-handover cinema. His filmography reads as a thorough overview of Chinese-language auteurist cinema over the last four decades, featuring collaborations with Wong Kar-wai on seven films, including "Chungking Express," "Happy Together," "In the Mood for Love," "2046," and "The Grandmaster"; Zhang Yimou's wuxia masterpiece "Hero"; Ang Lee's "Lust, Caution"; John Woo's "Hard Boiled" and "Red Cliff"; and Hou Hsiao-hsien's "A City of Sadness" and "Flowers of Shanghai."
Beyond Chinese-language cinema, Leung has starred in Tran Anh Hung's "Cyclo" and recently worked with Hungarian Oscar winner Ildikó Enyedi. Among his most celebrated performances are the quietly devastated Chow Mo-wan in "In the Mood for Love," for which he won the best actor prize at Cannes in 2000, the first actor from Hong Kong to do so; the conflicted swordsman Broken Sword in "Hero"; and the wisecracking Ouyang Feng in Jeffrey Lau's cult comedy "The Eagle Shooting Heroes." He has also appeared in three films that took home Venice's Golden Lion for best film: "A City of Sadness" (1989), "Cyclo" (1995), and "Lust, Caution" (2007).
Founded in 1993, the Shanghai International Film Festival is China's most established cinema event. Previous jury presidents include Danny Boyle, Luc Besson, Barry Levinson, Tom Hooper, John Woo, Jiang Wen, Tran Anh Hung, and Jean-Jacques Annaud. Further jury announcements and the festival lineup are expected from SIFF later this spring.
