Stanley Kwan

Career

Kwan first landed a job at TVB after receiving a mass communications degree at Hong Kong Baptist College. His first film, Women (1985) which starred Chow Yun-fat, was a big box-office success.

Kwan's films often deal sympathetically with the plight of women and their struggles with romantic affairs of the heart. Rouge (1987), Full Moon in New York (1989), Center Stage (1991), a biopic on silent film star Ruan Lingyu and Everlasting Regret (2005), are all such typical Kwan films. Red Rose White Rose (1994) is an adaptation of a novella of the same name by Eileen Chang. The film was entered into the 45th Berlin International Film Festival. His 1998 film Hold You Tight won the Alfred Bauer Prize and Teddy Award at the 48th Berlin International Film Festival.

In 1996, Kwan came out as a gay man in Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema, his documentary looking at the history of Chinese-language film through the prism of gender roles and sexuality. He is one of the few openly gay directors in Asia and one of the very few to have worked on these themes. His Lan Yu (2001) adapts a gay love story originally published on the Internet.

Kwan is also an occasional lecturer at the City University of Hong Kong, where he teaches directing and writing to students.

In June 2025, Kwan was invited to join the Directors Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Filmography

Film

• Women 女人心 (1985)
• Love Unto Waste 地下情 (1986)
• Rouge 胭脂扣 (1987)
• Full Moon in New York 人在紐約 (1989)
• Too Happy for Words 兩個女人，一個靚一個唔靚 (1992)
• Center Stage, a.k.a. The New China Woman or Actress 阮玲玉 (1991)
• Red Rose White Rose 紅玫瑰白玫瑰 (1994)
• Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema 男生女相：華語電影之性别 (1996)
• Hold You Tight 愈快樂愈墮落 (1997) (Teddy Award in 1998)
• Still Love You After All These 念你如昔 (1997)
• The Island Tales 有時跳舞 (1999)
• Lan Yu 藍宇 (2001)
• Everlasting Regret 長恨歌 (2005)
• Showtime (2010)
• First Night Nerves 八個女人一台戲 （2018）

References

References

1. (2007). "501 Movie Directors". Cassell Illustrated.
2. "Berlinale: 1995 Programme". berlinale.de.
3. "Berlinale: 1998 Prize Winners". berlinale.de.
4. (July 2002). "Stanley Kwan: Between Chinas".
5. 嚴依諾. (2003-10-11). "並肩投入師生製作參展電影".
6. (2020-07-05). "將影業沮喪氣氛化為動力 關錦鵬計劃明年開新戲".
7. (June 26, 2025). "THE ACADEMY INVITES 534 TO MEMBERSHIP".