Benny Chan Muk-sing (; 24 October 1961 – 23 August 2020) was a Hong Kong

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

, producer and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He is best known for his feature films such as '' A Moment of Romance'', ''

Big Bullet ''Big Bullet'' () is a 1996 Hong Kong action film directed, produced and co-written by Benny Chan. The film won awards for film editing at the 1996 Golden Horse Film Festival and the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards. Plot After assaulting his tac ...

'', '' Who Am I?'', ''

Rob-B-Hood ''Rob-B-Hood'' (, also known as ''Robin-B-Hood'', literally: Baby Project) is a 2006 Hong Kong action comedy film written, produced and directed by Benny Chan, and starring Jackie Chan, Louis Koo, Yuen Biao and Michael Hui. The film was prod ...

'', ''

New Police Story ''New Police Story'' is a 2004 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Benny Chan, and also produced by and starring Jackie Chan. The film was released in the Hong Kong on 24 September 2004. The film is a reboot of the ''Police Story'' ...

'', '' Shaolin'', ''

The White Storm ''The White Storm'', formerly known as ''The Cartels War'' () is a 2013 Hong Kong-Chinese crime thriller film directed by Benny Chan and starring Sean Lau, Louis Koo, and Nick Cheung. The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Hong Kong Asian ...

'', ''

Call of Heroes ''Call of Heroes'', previously known as ''The Deadly Reclaim'', (Chinese: 危城) is a 2016 Hong Kong-Chinese Hong Kong action cinema, action film co-written, co-produced and directed by Benny Chan (film director), Benny Chan, with Stage combat, act ...

'', and '' Raging Fire''. He was fluent in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

and

Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...

and was nominated for

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

six times at the

Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, ac ...

, include ''

'', ''

Heroic Duo ''Heroic Duo'' () is a 2003 Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Benny Chan and starring Leon Lai, Ekin Cheng and Francis Ng. Plot Ken Li is a senior member of the Hong Kong Police Force. He has an egocentric and overpowering persona ...

'', ''

Connected Connected may refer to: Film and television * ''Connected'' (2008 film), a Hong Kong remake of the American movie ''Cellular'' * '' Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology'', a 2011 documentary film * ''Connected'' (2015 TV ...

'', ''

'' and '' Raging Fire''. His last film, ''Raging Fire'', earned him Best Director award at the

40th Hong Kong Film Awards The 40th Hong Kong Film Awards presentation ceremony took place at The Star Hall at Kowloonbay International Trade & Exhibition Centre (KITEC) on 17 July 2022. Earlier it was scheduled for April 17 but it was postponed thrice due to COVID-19. No ...

and the film went on to win

Best Film This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

award at the ceremony. Benny Chan died of

nasopharyngeal cancer Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), or nasopharynx cancer, is the most common cancer originating in the nasopharynx, most commonly in the postero-lateral nasopharynx or pharyngeal recess ( fossa of Rosenmüller), accounting for 50% of cases. NPC occurs ...

in Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital.

Life and career

Born and raised in

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

, Benny Chan first accepted a job in 1981 at

Rediffusion Television Rediffusion Television (RTV) was the first television station in Hong Kong, making it both the first British colony and the first predominantly ethnically Chinese city to have television.Kitley, Philip. 003(2003). Television, Regulation and ...

working in continuity. The following year, he joined

TVB Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) is a television broadcasting company based in Hong Kong SAR. The Company operates five free-to-air terrestrial television channels in Hong Kong, with TVB Jade as its main Cantonese language service, and ...

, becoming a

production assistant A production assistant, also known as a PA, is a member of the film crew and is a job title used in filmmaking and television for a person responsible for various aspects of a production. The job of a PA can vary greatly depending on the budget ...

Johnnie To Johnnie To Kei-fung (born 22 April 1955) is a Hong Kong film director, screenwriter and film producer. Popular in his native Hong Kong, To has also found acclaim overseas. Intensely prolific, To has made films in a variety of genres, though in ...

. By 1985, Chan had worked his way up to being a

television director A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...

, co-directing television series like The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (1985). In addition to directing most of the episodes of ''The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain'', he also wrote the scripts for all 40 episodes. Chan had gained experience as an executive director for a couple of films between 1987 and 1988, and had also directed and produced a few television series for

Asia Television Asia Television Limited (, also known as ATV) is a digital media and broadcasting company in Hong Kong. Established as the first television service in Hong Kong as Rediffusion Television () on 29 May 1957, it shifted to terrestrial televisio ...

in 1989. Chan's debut as a film director began with '' A Moment of Romance'' (1990), which was produced by To. During the 1990s, he directed films like ''

'' (1996), '' Who Am I?'' (1998), and ''

Gen-X Cops ''Gen-X Cops'' () is a 1999 Hong Kong action crime comedy film directed by Benny Chan, starring Nicholas Tse, Stephen Fung and Sam Lee. Synopsis Jet fuel is stolen by weapons smugglers. The fuel is reacquired by the Hong Kong police but then ...

'' (1999). For his work on ''Big Bullet'', which he co-wrote, directed, and produced, Chan was nominated for Best Director at the 1997 Hong Kong Film Awards. The film also won awards for Best Film Editing at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the 1996 Golden Horse Film Festival. He also continued to work in television, directing episodes of the 1995 adaptation of ''

Fist of Fury ''Fist of Fury'' is a 1972 Hong Kong action martial arts film written and directed by Lo Wei, produced by Raymond Chow, and starring Bruce Lee in his second major role after ''The Big Boss'' (1971). Lee, who was also the film's action choreogr ...

'' starring

Donnie Yen Donnie Yen Chi-tan (; born 27 July 1963) is a Hong Kong actor, martial artist, and action director. Yen is one of Hong Kong's top action stars. Yen is widely credited for bringing mixed martial arts (MMA) into the mainstream Asian cinema by cho ...

. Working in exclusively the film industry since 1998's ''Who Am I?'', Chan continued to work on various projects. Since ''Who Am I?'', he continued to direct more of

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born 7 April 1954), known professionally in English as Jackie Chan and in Chinese as Cheng Long ( zh, c=成龍, j=Sing4 Lung4; "becoming the dragon"), is a Hong Kong actor, filmmaker, martial artist, and stuntman known for ...

's movies, such as ''

'' (2004), ''

'' (2006), and '' Shaolin'' (2011). He also directed ''

'' (2003), ''

Divergence In vector calculus, divergence is a vector operator that operates on a vector field, producing a scalar field giving the quantity of the vector field's source at each point. More technically, the divergence represents the volume density of the ...

'' (2005), ''

'' (2008), and ''

'' (2013). Prior to his death, Chan was working on '' Raging Fire'', which he gave to a colleague to complete post-production work after his cancer diagnosis.

Illness and death

In 2019, Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer after feeling unwell while working on ''Raging Fire''. During the last few months of his life, he was hospitalized at

Prince of Wales Hospital Prince of Wales Hospital is a large of Tertiary referral hospital and large of teaching hospital from Faculty of Medicine in Chinese University of Hong Kong in Sha Tin, New Territories in Hong Kong.. Named after Charles, Prince of Wales (now ...

. On 23 August 2020, Chan died at the

Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, or HKSH, is a private hospital established in 1922 in Happy Valley, Hong Kong. The hospital has more than 500 beds and various room types and facilities. It also has a 24 hours outpatient consultation service. ...

Wan Chai Wan Chai is situated at the western part of the Wan Chai District on the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, in Hong Kong. Its other boundaries are Canal Road, Hong Kong, Canal Road to the east, Arsenal Street to the west and Bowen Road to th ...

, Hong Kong.

Filmography

Feature film

This is a list of 30 feature films which was made by Benny Chan. Most of his films are credited as a director, producer and screenwriter, others are noted.

Television film

* ''

'' 精武門 (1995) - TV series, as a director

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
HK Cinemagic entry
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chan, Benny Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text Articles containing Chinese-language text Hong Kong film directors Hong Kong film producers Hong Kong screenwriters 1961 births Living people