Alan Mak (director)
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Alan Mak Siu-fai (; born 1 January 1965), is a Hong Kong writer, director, actor and producer.


Early life

In 1965, Mak was born in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
.


Education

In 1986, Mak studied at the School of Drama in the
Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts (HKAPA) (Chinese: 香港演藝學院) is a provider of tertiary education in Hong Kong. Located near the north coast of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, the main campus also functions as a venue for pe ...
. Upon graduation in 1990, he started his movie career.


Career

Mak made his directorial debut in 1997, with his first film being '' Nude Fear'', which was written and produced by Joe Ma. After that, Mak directed further films such as '' Rave Fever'', ''
A War Named Desire ''A War Named Desire'' is a 2000 Hong Kong action film co-written and directed by Alan Mak and starring Francis Ng, Daniel Chan, Pace Wu, Sam Lee, David Lee, Dave Wang and Gigi Leung. Plot Charles (Francis Ng) and James (Daniel Chan) are tw ...
'', ''
Final Romance Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...
'' and ''Stolen Love'', which would be his first collaboration with writer
Felix Chong Felix Chong Man-keung () (born December 27, 1968) is a Hong Kong screenwriter, film director and actor. He is one of the most celebrated screenwriters in Hong Kong and has won several prestigious awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Chong is k ...
. In 2002, Mak and Chong wrote their first script together. The movie was ''
Infernal Affairs ''Infernal Affairs'' is a 2002 Hong Kong action thriller film co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Jointly written by Mak and Felix Chong, it stars Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. The film fo ...
'', which was produced by Mak's directing partner,
Andrew Lau Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wo ...
, who also served as
cinematographer The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the photographing or recording of a film, television production, music video or other live action piece. The cinematographer is the ch ...
. Lau and Mak also served as directors for the film, and it would be the first of many collaborations involving the directing duo. ''Infernal Affairs'' starred the four top actors of its year—
Andy Lau Andy Lau Tak-wah (; born 27 September 1961) is a Hong Kong actor, singer-songwriter and film producer. He has been one of Hong Kong's most commercially successful film actors since the mid-1980s, performing in more than 160 films while maint ...
,
Tony Leung Chiu-Wai use both this parameter and , birth_date to display the person's date of birth, date of death, and age at death) --> , death_place = , death_cause = , resting_place = , resting_place_coordinates = , burial_place ...
,
Eric Tsang Eric Tsang Chi-wai (; born 14 April 1953) is a Hong Kong actor, film director, producer, and television host, best known for hosting the variety show '' Super Trio series'' on the Hong Kong television network TVB over 18 years. He currently hol ...
and Anthony Wong—along with the year's two top actresses—
Kelly Chen Kelly Chen Wai-lam (born Vivian Chen Wai-man on 13 September 1972) is a Hong Kong Cantopop singer and actress. She has been referred to as a " Diva of Asia" (). Chen has great success in the East Asian entertainment industry with nearly 20 m ...
and
Sammi Cheng Sammi Cheng Sau-man (; born 19 August 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. She is considered one of the most prominent female singers in Hong Kong, with album sales of over million copies throughout Asia. Most notably in the 1990s, she was dub ...
. ''Infernal Affairs'' was the number one box-office hit in Hong Kong that year, breaking several box office records alone. Furthermore, the film won many Hong Kong Film Awards, including Best Picture, Best Directors (Lau and Mak), Best Screenplay (Mak and co-writer Chong), and Best Supporting Actor (Wong). ''Infernal Affairs'' also went on win awards at the 40th
Golden Horse Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards () is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962 by the Government Information Office of the Republic of China (ROC) in Taiwan. The awards ceremony is u ...
and the
Golden Bauhinia Awards Golden Bauhinia Awards () is a Hong Kong film award organised by the Hong Kong Film Critics Association. Its first award presentation ceremony took place in 1996. The award attracted controversy in 2007, when ten nominations were given to Pang ...
. In 2003, Lau and Mak completed the trilogy with the prequel ''
Infernal Affairs II ''Infernal Affairs II'' is a 2003 Hong Kong crime- action film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is a prequel to the 2002 film ''Infernal Affairs''. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue and Chapman To reprise their roles from ...
'' and the sequel/prequel ''
Infernal Affairs III ''Infernal Affairs III'' is a 2003 Hong Kong crime action film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third and final installment in the ''Infernal Affairs'' film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, a ...
''. That same year, Mak received the 2003 Leader of the Year award in the Sports/Culture/Entertainment category. In 2004, Lau and Mak worked on another blockbuster, ''Initial D'', which was shot in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and released in Hong Kong during the summer. Once again, it was also another successful film for Lau and Mak, winning multiple awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards, winning for Best New Performer (
Jay Chou Jay Chou ( zh, t=周杰倫, s=周杰伦, poj=Chiu Kia̍t-lûn, p=Zhōu Jiélún, first=t, w=Chou Chieh-lun; born January 18, 1979) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter, record producer, rapper, actor, and television personality. Dubbed the " King ...
), Best Supporting Actor (Anthony Wong Chau Sang, Anthony Wong), and Best Visual Effects. In 2006, Lau, Mak and scriptwriter Felix Chong re-teamed to make the 2005 film, '' Moonlight in Tokyo''. They re-teamed again for the 2006 film ''
Confession of Pain ''Confession of Pain'' is a 2006 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Shu Qi and Xu Jinglei. Plot summary Police inspectors Lau Ching-hei and Yau Kin-bong arrest a rapist in ...
'', once again re-teaming with ''Infernal Affairs'' star Tony Leung Chiu-Wai. He also created '' The Silent War''. Mak's next film was ''
Lady Cop & Papa Crook ''Lady Cop & Papa Crook'' () is a 2008 Hong Kong crime film written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, and starring Sammi Cheng and Eason Chan. Chan plays the kingpin of a red diesel crime ring who is forced to team up and co-operate wit ...
'' which he co-wrote and co-directed with
Felix Chong Felix Chong Man-keung () (born December 27, 1968) is a Hong Kong screenwriter, film director and actor. He is one of the most celebrated screenwriters in Hong Kong and has won several prestigious awards at the Hong Kong Film Awards. Chong is k ...
. The film was released in 2008 and marked the feature-film return of
Sammi Cheng Sammi Cheng Sau-man (; born 19 August 1972) is a Hong Kong singer and actress. She is considered one of the most prominent female singers in Hong Kong, with album sales of over million copies throughout Asia. Most notably in the 1990s, she was dub ...
after a three-year hiatus. He has worked solidly since then releasing films up until 2019's ''Integrity''. His next film ''Justices Seeker'' is in post-production.


Filmography

* 1998 '' Nude Fear'' * 1999 '' Rave Fever'' * 2000 ''
A War Named Desire ''A War Named Desire'' is a 2000 Hong Kong action film co-written and directed by Alan Mak and starring Francis Ng, Daniel Chan, Pace Wu, Sam Lee, David Lee, Dave Wang and Gigi Leung. Plot Charles (Francis Ng) and James (Daniel Chan) are tw ...
'' * 2001 ''Final Romance'' * 2001 ''Stolen Love'' * 2002 ''
Infernal Affairs ''Infernal Affairs'' is a 2002 Hong Kong action thriller film co-directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. Jointly written by Mak and Felix Chong, it stars Andy Lau, Tony Leung, Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Sammi Cheng and Kelly Chen. The film fo ...
'' * 2003 ''1:99 Shorts'' (segment) * 2003 ''
Infernal Affairs II ''Infernal Affairs II'' is a 2003 Hong Kong crime- action film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is a prequel to the 2002 film ''Infernal Affairs''. Anthony Wong, Eric Tsang, Edison Chen, Shawn Yue and Chapman To reprise their roles from ...
'' * 2003 ''
Infernal Affairs III ''Infernal Affairs III'' is a 2003 Hong Kong crime action film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third and final installment in the ''Infernal Affairs'' film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, a ...
'' * 2005 ''Moonlight in Tokyo'' * 2005 '' Initial D'' * 2006 ''
Confession of Pain ''Confession of Pain'' is a 2006 Hong Kong crime drama film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak, starring Tony Leung, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Shu Qi and Xu Jinglei. Plot summary Police inspectors Lau Ching-hei and Yau Kin-bong arrest a rapist in ...
'' * 2008 ''
Lady Cop & Papa Crook ''Lady Cop & Papa Crook'' () is a 2008 Hong Kong crime film written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong, and starring Sammi Cheng and Eason Chan. Chan plays the kingpin of a red diesel crime ring who is forced to team up and co-operate wit ...
'' * 2009 '' Overheard'' * 2011 ''
The Lost Bladesman ''The Lost Bladesman'' is a 2011 Hong Kong-Chinese historical war and biopic action film loosely based on the story of Guan Yu crossing five passes and slaying six generals in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of the Three Kingdoms''. ...
'' * 2011 '' Overheard 2'' * 2012 '' The Silent War'' * 2014 ''
Overheard 3 ''Overheard 3'' () is a 2014 Hong Kong-Chinese crime-thriller film written and directed by Alan Mak and Felix Chong and starring Sean Lau, Louis Koo, Daniel Wu, Zhou Xun and Michelle Ye. It is a sequel to the 2011 film ''Overheard 2'' in whi ...
'' * 2015 ''I Am Somebody'' * 2017 ''
Extraordinary Mission ''Extraordinary Mission'' () is a 2017 Chinese crime action drama film directed by Alan Mak and Anthony Pun. It was released in China on 31 March 2017. Plot The film tells the story of an undercover police officer, Lin Kai (Huang Xuan), who acce ...
'' * 2019 ''
Integrity Integrity is the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to strong moral and ethical principles and values. In ethics, integrity is regarded as the honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of one's actions. Inte ...
'' * 2022 '' The Procurator'' * 2023 ''
Insider ''Insider'', previously named ''Business Insider'' (''BI''), is an American financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Insider''s parent company Insider Inc. has been owned by the German publ ...
''


Awards and nominations


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mak, Alan Living people 1965 births Hong Kong film directors Hong Kong male actors Hong Kong screenwriters Hong Kong film producers Asian film producers