Johnnie To

Johnnie To
Background information
Chinese name	杜琪峯
Chinese name	杜琪峯 (traditional)
Jyutping	dou6 kei4 fung1 (Cantonese)
Origin	Hong Kong
Born	(1955-04-22) 22 April 1955 Hong Kong
Other name(s)	Johnny To
Occupation	film director, producer
Awards Hong Kong Film Awards Best Director 2000 The Mission 2004 PTU 2006 Election Best Film 2004 Running on Karma 2006 Election Golden Bauhinia Awards Best Director 2000 The Mission 2004 PTU 2007 Exiled Best Film 2000 The Mission 2004 PTU 2006 Election 2007 Exiled Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards Best Director 1998 A Hero Never Dies 1999 The Mission 2003 PTU 2005 Election 2006 Exiled Best Film 1999 The Mission 2005 Election 2006 Election 2 Golden Horse Awards Best Director 1999 The Mission 2004 Breaking News 2012 Life Without Principle

Johnnie To (born 22 April 1955), also known as To Kei-Fung (杜琪峯), is a Hong Kong film director and producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong,^[1] To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in the West he is best known for his action and crime movies, which have earned him critical respect^[2][3] and a cult following (which include Quentin Tarantino, who once said that he really loves to watch To's gangster films^[4]).

To's biggest international successes include Breaking News, Election, Election 2 (a.k.a. Triad Election), Exiled, Mad Detective and Drug War; these films have appeared in a number of international film festivals, been distributed theatrically in France and the United States, and been widely sold to foreign countries.

His films, often made in collaboration with the same group of actors, screenwriters and cinematographers, frequently explore themes of friendship, fate and the changing face of Hong Kong society.^[5][6] Sometimes described as "multifaceted and chameleonic"^[3] due to his ability to switch tones and genres between movies, To is nonetheless seen as having a consistent style, which involves mixing subdued realism and social observation with highly stylised visual and acting elements.^[5]

To heads the Hong Kong-based production company Milkyway Image with his frequent co-director Wai Ka-Fai.

Career

Johnnie To began his career at age 17^[1] as a messenger for the Hong Kong television studio TVB. From there To moved up the ladder, working as an executive producer and director for TV shows starting in 1973. In 1978, he shot his first theatrical feature, but continued working in television. In 1983, he directed and screen-wrote the critically acclaimed The Legend of the Condor Heroes, a dramatised TV series base on the martial art novel of the same name by Louis Cha.

While working as an assistant TV director during the Shaw Studios era, he directed All About Ah-Long in 1989, starring Chow Yun-fat, the film became one of the biggest box office hits in that year. In 1988, he co-directed The Big Heat, his first action movie. The film was produced by Tsui Hark. The end of the 1980s also saw some of To's biggest commercial successes, the vast majority of which were comedies. His 1988 film The Eighth Happiness was that year's highest-grossing movie.^[7]

In 1996, To and frequent collaborator Wai Ka-Fai formed Milkyway Image, a production house that specialises in cost-efficient independent films made by To and Wai, as well their frequent collaborators from Law Wing-Cheong to scriptwriter Yau Nai-Hoi.

In April 2011, it was announced that he would be a member of the jury for the main competition at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.^[8]

His 2011 film Life Without Principle was selected as the Hong Kong entry for the Best Foreign Language Oscar at the 85th Academy Awards, but it did not make the final shortlist.^[9]

To is a member of the governing Council of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.^[10]

Festivals and awards

Commercially successful in his native Hong Kong, To's films have regularly appeared at international festivals, most notably in Europe and North America. Six of To's films have been featured at the Cannes Film Festival: Breaking News premiered as an Out-of-Competition midnight screening in 2004;^[11] Election was shown in Competition in 2005;^[12] its sequel, Election 2 (a.k.a. Triad Election) was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2006, and Triangle was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2007; Vengeance competed for the prestigious Palme D'Or in 2009; Blind Detective was screened in Out-of-Competition midnight screenings in 2013.

At the Berlin International Film Festival, Sparrow was shown in Competition in 2008.

At the Venice International Film Festival, Throw Down was screened Out-of-Competition in 2004; Exiled was shown in Competition at the festival in 2006; Mad Detective was shown in Competition in 2007; Life Without Principle was shown in Competition in 2011.

In North America, To's films have been consistently screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. The Mission, Fulltime Killer, PTU, Breaking News, Throw Down and Mad Detective all screened between 1999 and 2007. In 2006, Election, Election 2, and Exiled were screened.

In 2005, To received the "Time Machine Career Achievement Award" at the Festival de Cine de Sitges, Europe's most prestigious film festival specializing in genre films. To was also honoured as a "Filmmaker in Focus" of 2007 International Film Festival Rotterdam. In 2009, while Vengeance competed at Cannes, To was made an officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters by the French Minister of Culture in recognition for his films.^[13]

Filmography

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Johnnie To.

• Johnnie To on IMDb
• Johnnie To at LoveHKFilm.com
• Interview with Johnnie To at IFC.com

Monographs

• Johnnie To, Director In Action – Stephen Teo
• Johnnie To Kei-Fung's PTU – Michael Ingham
• The Rise Of Johnnie To – Marie Jost