Mr Zhu Shi Lin

1899-1967

Director

Film director Zhu Shi Lin fell in love with cinema at a young age as his workplace in Beijing was situated opposite the True Light Theatre, which he frequented. In 1922, the theatre hired him as a part-time editor and translator. A year later, Zhu joined Lo Ming Yau’s North China Amusement Company as head of the translation department. However, he was soon struck by an illness that led to stiffness of the hip joint and the inability to bend from the waist for the rest of his life. During his convalescence, Zhu wrote scripts and, in 1930, shortly after he was able to walk again, he shot his first film on the rooftop of True Light Theatre. It was a short titled Suicide Contract (1930). That same year, he went to Shanghai to work as a writer and manager at Lo Ming Yau’s United Photoplay while continuing with his scriptwriting. Four years later, Zhu made his directorial debut with Coming Home (1934), after which he wrote and directed the Chinese cinema classic Song of a Kind Mother (1936). Zhu came to Hong Kong in 1946 where he helmed Sorrows of the Forbidden City (1948) for Yung Hwa Motion Pictures. When Yung Hwa became plagued by financial troubles, Zhu founded Loon-Ma Film Company with friend Fei Mu, and the studio went on to make Should They Marry? (1951), The Dividing Wall (1952) and various other titles. In 1954, Zhu merged Loon-Ma with Feng Huang Motion Picture Company. Heading the artistic committee of Feng Huang, he continued to direct and write while also training young talents in these skills. Some of his signature works for Feng Huang include Between Husband and Wife (1958) and Garden of Repose (1964).