Feng Xiaogang

Feng Xiaogang (simplified Chinese: 冯小刚; traditional Chinese: 馮小剛; pinyin: Féng Xiǎogāng; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing, China) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter and actor. He is well-known in China as a highly successful commercial filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well at the box office, although Xiaogang has broken out from that mold by making some drama and period drama films.

Biography

The son of a college professor and a factory nurse, Xiaogang joined the Beijing Military Region Art Troupe as a stage designer after high school. He began his cinema career as an art designer in the Beijing Television Art Center in 1985. Later, he moved on to write screenplays. During this period, he worked closely with director Zheng Xiaolong and writer Wang Shuo (王朔).

In the late 1990s, Xiaogang established himself in a Chinese genre called "Hesui Pian (贺岁片)", or "New Year's Celebration Films." He became famous as the director of the movie The Dream Factory (1997). Jason McGrath, a University of Minnesota professor, believed that, having achieved success within mainland China in the face of Hollywood competition, "The entertainment cinema of Feng Xiaogang represents a new model of a Chinese national cinema that positions itself vis-à-vis Hollywood."

Xiaogang is renowned for making comedies in the Beijing dialect. Almost all of his films star Ge You (葛优) in a leading role. In recent years, he has transitioned from solely making comedies to directing drama and period drama movies.

He married actress Xu Fan (徐帆) in 1999.

Filmography

As director

Year	English Title	Chinese Title	Notes
1994	Lost My Love	永失我爱
1997	The Dream Factory	甲方乙方	21st annual Hundred Flowers Awards -- Best Picture.
1998	Be There or Be Square	不见不散
1999	Sorry Baby	没完没了
2000	Sigh	一声叹息	Cairo International Film Festival -- Golden Pyramid.
2001	Big Shot's Funeral	大腕	25th annual Hundred Flowers Awards -- Best Picture.
2003	Cell Phone	手机	27th annual Hundred Flowers Awards -- Best Picture.
2004	A World Without Thieves	天下无贼	42nd Golden Horse Awards -- Best Adapted Screenplay (Feng Xiaogang, Wang Gang, Lin Lisheng and Zhang Jialu).
2006	The Banquet	夜宴	43rd Golden Horse Awards -- Best Art Direction, Best Make-up and Costume Design (Tim Yip).
2007	Assembly	集结号	11th Pyongyang International Film Festival -- Best Picture, Best Director. 15th Beijing College Student Film Festival -- Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor (Zhang Hanyu). 29th annual Hundred Flowers Awards -- Best Picture. 45th Golden Horse Awards -- Best Actor (Zhang Hanyu), Best Adapted Screenplay (Liu Heng). 27th Golden Rooster Awards -- Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography (Lü Yue), Best Original Score (Wang Liguang).
2008	If You Are the One	非诚勿扰
2010	Aftershock	唐山大地震	Selected as the Chinese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards.
2010	If You Are the One 2	非诚勿扰 2
2012	Back to 1942	一九四二	China Film Director's Guild Awards -- Best Film, Best Director. Hong Kong Film Award -- Best Film from Mainland and Taiwan.
2013	Personal Tailor	私人订制
2016	I Am Not Madame Bovary	我不是潘金莲	24th Beijing College Student Film Festival -- Best Director. 53rd Golden Horse Awards -- Best Director.
2017	Youth	芳华

As writer

Year	English Title	Chinese Title	Notes
1992	After Separation	大撒把
1994	A Born Coward	天生胆小
1997	The Dream Factory	甲方乙方
2001	Big Shot's Funeral	大腕
2004	A World Without Thieves	天下无贼	42nd Golden Horse Awards -- Best Adapted Screenplay (Feng Xiaogang, Wang Gang, Lin Lisheng and Zhang Jialu).
2008	If You Are the One	非诚勿扰
2010	If You Are the One 2	非诚勿扰 2

As actor

Year	English Title	Chinese Title	Role	Notes
1994	In the Heat of the Sun	阳光灿烂的日子	Mr. Hu
1997	The Dream Factory	甲方乙方
2000	Father	冤家父子	Ma Linsheng
2001	The Marriage Certificate	谁说我不在乎
2002	Cala, My Dog!	卡拉是条狗
2004	Kung Fu Hustle	功夫	Crocodile Gang Boss
2005	Wait 'Til You're Older	童梦奇缘	Drifter
2007	Trivial Matters	破事儿	Marketing Officer for Assassins Group
2009	The Founding of a Republic	建国大业	Du Yuesheng, Boss of the Shanghai Green Gang
2010	True Legend	苏乞儿	Cameo
2010	Let the Bullets Fly	让子弹飞	师爷
2012	The Monkey King: Uproar in Heaven	大闹天宫
2015	Mr. Six	老炮儿	Liu Ye	China Film Director's Guild Awards -- Best Actor. Chinese Film Media Awards -- Best Actor. 52nd Golden Horse Awards -- Best Actor.

External links

• Feng Xiaogang at IMDb
• Feng Xiaogang at AllMovie