Mr Ng See Yuen

1944-

Director & Producer

Born in Shanghai, director and producer Ng See Yuen moved to Hong Kong at a young age. He enrolled in the Southern Drama School run by Shaw Brothers in 1966 and worked as a continuity man at the studio. The first films he directed were Mad Killer (1971) and The Bloody Fists (1972). Ng founded Seasonal Film Corporation in 1973 and directed films such as the trendsetting Anti-Corruption (1975) and The Unwritten Law (1985). A skilled producer, he spearheaded titles including Drunken Master (1978), Snake in the Eagle’s Shadow (1978), The Butterfly Murders (1979), Gun Is Law (1983), Once Upon a Time in China II (1992), The Soong Sisters (1997) and The Grandmaster (2013). Another of his films, All for the Winner (1990), topped Hong Kong’s box office chart in 1990. Ng is widely recognised as one of Hong Kong’s most influential and visionary independent filmmakers. He is credited with spotting and grooming on-screen and behind-the-scenes talent, including Jackie Chan, Yuen Woo Ping, Andy Lau, Tsui Hark and Stephen Chow. He founded the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild in 1990, served as its president for the first two terms and is the Guild’s permanent honorary president. In 2002, he was instrumental in establishing the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, an umbrella organisation of 10 professional film associations, and he has been its chairman ever since. He was also the former chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards. Importantly, Ng was a crucial figure in pushing for the film sector to come under the CEPA (Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement) trade agreement. In 1998, he was conferred with the Bronze Bauhinia Star by the Hong Kong Government; in 2013, he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Ng has been operating commercial theatres in Mainland China in recent years.