Editor

25th LOUIS VUITTON Hawaii International Film Festival October 20 - 30, 2005

Zhang Yimou, director of 'HERO', confirms attendance at the 25th Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival.
Two-time Academy Award® nominee, Zhang Yimou will be receiving LVHIFF’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award.

"Zhang Yimou is widely recognized as one of the world’s top film directors and it’s very special having Mr. Zhang at LVHIFF our 25th anniversary," said Chuck Boller, Executive Director of the LVHIFF. "Mr. Zhang is the first recipient of LVHIFF’s Lifetime Achievement Award because his body of work embodies LVHIFF’s mission of East meets West through film."

This will be his fourth visit to the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival. LVHIFF has screened seven of Zhang Yimou’s award-winning films over the years including the enormously popular KEEP COOL [1997], SHANGHAI TRIAD [1995], TO LIVE [1994], THE STORY OF QIU JU [1992], RAISE THE RED LANTERN [1990], JU DOU[1990], AND RED SORGHUM [1987].

Zhang’s tumultuous experience begins during the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s and his resilient pursuit of a career in film during the 1970s. After graduating from the Beijing Film Academy at an age when most individuals had already established careers, Zhang was at the beginning. Zhang’s classmates included directors such as Chen Kaige (YELLOW EARTH) and Tian Zhuangzhuang (THE BLUE KITE). Together, they would form the famed Fifth Generation filmmakers – a group of filmmakers and films that earned, for the first time in Mainland Chinese cinema, critical and commercial success throughout the world. Noted for his vivid cinematography and powerful woman-centered stories, Zhang was quickly recognized as one of the world’s top film directors and his films became symbolic of Mainland Chinese cinema.



His early films were also significant for how they produced the phenomenon of Mainland China’s first international movie star, Gong Li. A mainstay in Zhang’s films for many years, Zhang’s talented directorial eye combined with Li’s ability, grace, beauty and poise, defined the standard for what it meant to be an actress from Mainland China. Zhang’s films reflect a revisionist passion and his work is often at odds with Chinese government censors Zhang’s depiction of the social, political and historical currents of China from individual perspectives gives China a sense of multiplicity and humanity. Zhang’s characters struggle with difficult choices and who seem to be perpetually weighed down by a heavy conscience. Overall, Zhang’s films provide the viewers, like the thousands that attend LVHIFF, a sense of place in this struggle that can be deeply transformative.



In 1995, LVHIFF awarded Zhang the Vision in Film Award and held a retrospective of Zhang’s work. Now, for LVHIFF’s 25th Anniversary, Zhang has been chosen to receive LVHIFF’s inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award. Usually, such an award is given at the end of one’s career and is reserved for people whose achievements are not widely recognized. Clearly, this is not the case with Zhang. Zhang’s filmmaking continues to operate at an unmatchable velocity, yet remains guided by an enviable spirit of innovation with no end in sight. Moreover, Zhang’s films arrive with high expectations because the world already knows about Zhang’s cinematic accomplishments; we know the name “Zhang Yimou.”

Selected Filmography:
2005 Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles (Qian li zou dan ji)
2004 House of Flying Daggers (Shi mian mai fu)
2002 Hero (Ying xiong)
2001 Happy Times (Xingfu shiguang)
1999 Not One Less (Yi ge dou bu neng shao)
1999 The Road Home (Wo de fu qin mu qin)
1997 Keep Cool (You hua hao hao shuo)
1996 Lumière and Company
1995 Shanghai Triad (Yao a yao yao dao waipo qiao)
1994 To Live (Huozhe)
1992 The Story of Qiu Ju (Qiu Ju da guan si)
1990 Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua)
1990 Ju Dou
1989 Codename Cougar (Daihao meizhoubao)
1987 Red Sorghum (Hong gao liang)

Selected Awards:

BAFTA Awards
1995 BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English Language for TO LIVE [Huozhe]
1993 BAFTA Film Award Best Film not in the English Language for RAISE THE RED LANTERN [Da hong deng long gao gao gua]

Berlin International Film Festival
2003 Alfred Bauer Award for HERO [Ying xiong]
2000 Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Competition for THE ROAD HOME [Wo de fu qin mu qin]
2000 Silver Berlin Bear Jury Grand Prix for THE ROAD HOME [Wo de fu qin mu qin]
1988 Golden Berlin Bear for RED SORGHUM [Hong gao liang]

Cannes Film Festival
1995 Technical Grand Prize for: SHANGHAI TRIAD [Yao a yao yao dao waipo qiao]
1994 Grand Prize of the Jury for TO LIVE [Huozhe]
1994 Prize of the Ecumenical Jury for TO LIVE [Huozhe]

Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival
1995 Vision in Film Award
1985 Excellence in Cinematography Award

Hong Kong Film Awards
2003 Best Screenplay for: HERO [Ying xiong]

Sundance Film Festival
2001 Audience Award World Cinema for THE ROAD HOME [Wo de fu qin mu qin]

Venice Film Festival
1999 Golden Lion for NOT ONE LESS [Yi ge dou bu neng shao]
1999 Laterna Magica Prize for NOT ONE LESS [Yi ge dou bu neng shao]
1999 Sergio Trasatti Award for NOT ONE LESS [Yi ge dou bu neng shao]





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