Clement Cheng
Biography
Clement Cheng is a Canadian film director and screenwriter from Hong Kong. He was born in Hong Kong and immigrated to Vancouver, Canada after primary school. From a young age he was deeply influenced by Hong Kong cinema. He studied interior design at university and also worked as a radio DJ in Canada before dropping out and returning to Hong Kong to join the film industry. He attended a directing and screenwriting training course taught by prominent directors including Ann Hui, Wong Kar-wai, and Wong Jing. In his early career he worked as a DJ, interior designer, English copywriter for advertising, and in film art direction, before transitioning to screenwriting and assistant directing, and also directing advertisements and music videos. His directorial debut was the 2010 film "Gallants" (打擂台), co-directed with Clement Kwok. The film won Best Film at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards and Best Film at the 17th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards. Cheng was nominated for several international emerging director awards for this film, including NETPAC. "Gallants" won numerous accolades: 2010 Best Film from the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, one of the Top 10 Asian Films of 2010 by the Wall Street Journal, one of the Top 10 Films of 2010 by The Beijing News, Most Recommended Film of 2010 by the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild, and Best Screenplay of 2010 by the Hong Kong Screenwriters' Guild. The film was screened at over twenty international film festivals and won the Audience Award for Best Film at the New York Asian Film Festival. In the same year, he directed his second film "Mong東風破" (東風破) for the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, which ranked first in the Top 10 Chinese Films of 2010 by the Federation of Film Critics Associations Across the Taiwan Straits. "Gallants" won four awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony, including Best Film, while "東風破" won Best Original Song. He also wrote the screenplays for "青苔" (2000), "神偷次世代" (2000), and "愛與誠" (2000), appeared as an actor in "DIVA" (2012), and directed an episode of the TV series "廉政行動2011" (2011).