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Derek Tsang

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Hong Kong filmmaker and actor In this Chinese name, the family name is Tsang.
Derek Tsang
曾國祥
Tsang at the 2010 Hong Kong International Film Festival
Born (1979-11-08) 8 November 1979 (age 45)
British Hong Kong
Occupations
  • Filmmaker
  • actor
Spouse Venus Wong ​(m. 2019)​
Parents
Family
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese曾國祥
Simplified Chinese曾国祥
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZēng Guóxiáng
Yue: Cantonese
JyutpingZang1 Gwok3coeng4

Derek Tsang Kwok-cheung (曾國祥; born 8 November 1979) is a Hong Kong filmmaker and actor. The son of actor Eric Tsang, Tsang got his start in the Hong Kong film industry working for director Peter Chan after graduating from University of Toronto Scarborough in 2001. He made his acting debut in Men Suddenly in Black (2003) and directorial debut with Lover's Discourse (2010), sharing the directing credit with Jimmy Wan Chi-man. The duo was nominated for Best New Director at the 47th Golden Horse Awards.

His solo directorial debut Soul Mate (2016) was critically praised, receiving 12 nominations at the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards and 7 nominations at the 53rd Golden Horse Awards. His next film, Better Days (2019), was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, becoming Hong Kong’s first Oscar submission directed by a Hong Kong native to be nominated in the category.

Early life

Derek Tsang was born to actor Eric Tsang and his second wife Rebecca Chu in Hong Kong on 8 November 1979.

Tsang described his upbringing as mostly detached from his father's public limelight. He said his father had moved out to live on his own when Tsang was a child because he had wanted to keep his personal life separate from the entertainment industry, which allowed Tsang "an ordinary, middle-class upbringing". Tsang lived with his mother, grandmother, and younger brother Mark in Mei Foo Sun Chuen before the family, excluding his father, moved to Canada when Tsang was 11.

Tsang received his bachelor of arts in Sociology at the University of Toronto Scarborough in 2001.

Career

After graduation, Tsang moved back to Hong Kong, where his father arranged for him to work under director Peter Chan Ho-Sun. There, he met producer Jojo Hui and director Jimmy Wan Chi-man, both of whom would go on to be Tsang's frequent collaborators.

Despite not pursuing an acting career, Tsang has had a variety of acting roles since the start of his career, which he attributed to other actors not wanting to be typecast into roles with unflattering characteristics. He made his screen debut in Men Suddenly in Black (2003), cameoing as the younger version of his father's character. There he met director Pang Ho-cheung, whom Tsang would later collaborate with on various projects.

Tsang's solo directorial debut, Soul Mate (2016), earned him Best Director nominations at various film award ceremonies, including the 36th Hong Kong Film Awards, the 53rd Golden Horse Awards and the 11th Asian Film Awards.

His next film, Better Days (2019), won eight out of twelve categories at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Film and Best Director. The film was subsequently chosen as Hong Kong's official entry for Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards. The film was nominated, but ultimately lost to Denmark's Another Round. Tsang became the first native Hong Kong director in the category.

In July 2021, Tsang was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Filmmaking

Tsang said his influences are primarily derived from art-house cinema, with early influences from director Wong Kar-wai and the French New Wave, as opposed to his father Eric Tsang's works, which consisted of mostly of mainstream comedies. He credits his half sister Bowie Tsang for teaching him about film and literature.

Personal life

Tsang married actress Venus Wong in 2019. He has expressed a reluctance to cast Wong due to the negative perception of nepotism.

Filmography

Directing

Producers

Acting

Awards and nominations

Award Year Nominated work Category Result Ref.
Academy Awards 2021 Better Days Best International Feature Film (representing Hong Kong) Nominated
Asian Film Awards 2017 Soul Mate Best Director Nominated
AACTA Awards 2020 Better Days Best Asian Film Won
China Film Director's Guild Awards 2017 Soul Mate Best Hong Kong / Taiwan Director Won
2020 Better Days Won
Golden Horse Awards 2010 Lover's Discourse Best New Director (shared with Jimmy Wan) Nominated
2016 Soul Mate Best Director Nominated
Golden Rooster Awards 2017 Soul Mate Best Directorial Debut Nominated
2020 Better Days Best Director Nominated
Hong Kong Film Awards 2017 Soul Mate Best Director Nominated
Best New Director Nominated
2020 Better Days Best Director Won
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Award 2017 Soul Mate Best Director Nominated
2020 Better Days Won
Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild 2017 Soul Mate Best Director Won
2020 Better Days Won
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2011 Lover's Discourse Grand Prix (shared with Jimmy Wan) Won
2017 Soul Mate ABC Award Won
2020 Better Days Audience Award Won
Primetime Emmy Awards 2024 3 Body Problem Outstanding Drama Series Nominated

References

  1. Soriano, Jianne (2021-03-18). "5 Things To Know About Derek Tsang And His Oscar-Nominated Film, "Better Days"". Tatler Hong Kong. Retrieved 2021-07-15.
  2. ^ Meet Hong Kong filmmaker Derek Tsang Kwok-cheung, director of Better Days (YouTube video). South China Morning Post. June 29, 2020.
  3. ^ Lee, Edmund (2020-10-11). "Why director Derek Tsang doesn't want to talk about his father". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 2020-10-11. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  4. University of Toronto: Derek Tsang, Hong-Kong Filmmaker, Alumni Portrait, 21 November 2012, retrieved 2021-04-03
  5. Grobar, Matt (2022-06-16). "Derek Tsang, Director Of Oscar-Nominated Chinese Drama 'Better Days,' Signs With Anonymous Content". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  6. Chu, Karen (2017-01-11). "Asian Film Awards: South Korea's 'The Handmaiden' Leads With 6 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  7. ^ Chow, Vivienne (2020-05-06). "'Better Days' Dominant at Closed Door Edition of Hong Kong Film Awards". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  8. "And the Oscar Goes To..." A.frame. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  9. Hinds, Carolyn (2021-04-25). "Why Derek Tsang Made 'Better Days,' His Film That's Already Made Oscar History". The New York Observer. Archived from the original on 2021-04-25. Retrieved 2021-07-14.
  10. "ACADEMY INVITES 395 TO MEMBERSHIP". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  11. "93RD OSCARS® NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2021-03-15. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  12. Wong, Silvia. "'The Handmaiden', 'I Am Not Madame Bovary' lead Asian Film Award noms". Screen International. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  13. "2020 AACTA Award Winners Announced". Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  14. Chow, Vivienne (2019-03-20). "'Better Days' Director Derek Tsang Lands in World Cinema Spotlight". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  15. Chow, Vivienne (2020-09-19). "China Directors Guild Crowns 'Wandering Earth,' Derek Tsang, Wang Xiaoshuai". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  16. "47th Nominees & Winners". 台北金馬影展 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  17. "2016金馬獎完整入圍名單，《一路順風》大贏家入圍8項|娛樂新聞-VOGUE時尚網". Vogue Taiwan (in Chinese). 2016-10-01. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  18. 劉希彤 (2020-11-08). "金雞獎公布入圍名單《少年的你》獲11項提名 鞏俐冇份爭影后". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 2024-03-07.
  19. Frater, Patrick (2017-02-08). "Indies, Newcomers Dominate Hong Kong Film Award Nominations". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  20. "第二十三屆香港電影評論學會大獎得獎理由撮要". 香港電影評論學會 (in Traditional Chinese). Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  21. "Gay drama Suk Suk named 2019's best Hong Kong film by critics". South China Morning Post. 2020-01-20. Retrieved 2024-03-06.
  22. "【導演曾國祥專訪】曾國祥執導Netflix話題科幻劇《3體》 「無絕對好人、壞人。」". 明周文化 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 2024-03-15. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  23. "【香港電影導演會年度頒獎典禮】《少年的你》膺3獎 太保奪最佳男主角". 明報 Our Lifestyle (in Traditional Chinese). 2020-03-21. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  24. "OSAKA ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2011｜COMPETITION｜WINNERS". Osaka Asian Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  25. "The list of award winners｜OAFF2017". Osaka Asian Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  26. "The list of award winners｜OAFF2020". Osaka Asian Film Festival. Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  27. "Derek Tsang". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2024-09-16.
  28. "3 Body Problem". Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 2024-09-16.

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