Jeffrey Lau

Biography

Jeffrey Lau was born in Hong Kong in 1952 and studied at St. Paul's College before pursuing graphic design in the United Kingdom. He returned to Hong Kong and worked at an advertising company before entering the film industry in 1980 as a screenwriter and producer. He directed his first film in 1987, The Haunted Cop Shop, and achieved major commercial success with All for the Winner, which grossed over HK$40 million and broke box office records. He retired from directing in 1998 but returned in 2001 with Running Out of Time 2 and directed Chinese Odyssey 2002 in 2002. In 2004 he produced Kung Fu Hustle, which won Best Film at the Hong Kong Film Awards and Best Narrative Feature at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival. He has a close relationship with director Wong Kar-wai and is a shareholder in Wong's film company, and is known by the pen name "Gee An" for his screenwriting work. In 2026 he received an honorary award from the Hong Kong Screenwriters' Guild.