Liu Wei writes a portfolio article for China Daily of Feng Xiaogang, a well-known Chinese comedy film director:
Feng’s smash comedies on ordinary urbanites’ lives topped the domestic box office from 1997 to 99. His films also raked in most money from mainland theaters in 2001 and 2003. In 2006, his first attempt at a costume epic, The Banquet, won $19.7 million despite savage reviews.
Feng did not grow up in a film studio, or have a director father as Chen does; neither did he have Zhang’s chance to work on a film soon after graduation. The painting-lover from a single-parent family never got a chance to enter any academy, which sets him apart from most mainland directors….[Full Text]
[Image: Feng Xiaogang instructs actors while filming The Banquet, via China Daily]
