Hu Mei (born 2 September 1958) is a Chinese

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 ...

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 ...

and producer. Usually classed as a Fifth Generation director, since she graduated from the Directors' class of the 1982

Beijing Film Academy Beijing Film Academy (BFA; ) is a coeducational state-run higher education institution in Beijing, China. The film school is the largest institution specializing in the tertiary education for film and television production in Asia. The academy h ...

cohort, she is a classmate of famous Fifth Generation directors such as

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wit ...

and

Tian Zhuangzhuang Tian Zhuangzhuang (; born April 1952 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, producer and actor. Tian was born to an influential actor and actress in China. Following a short stint in the military, Tian began his artistic career first as an ama ...

. In 1997, she directed the historical television series ''

Yongzheng Dynasty ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' is a 1999 Chinese historical television series starring Tang Guoqiang and Jiao Huang. The series, spanning 44 episodes, occupied the CCTV-1 prime time slot; after its premiere, there have been many re-runs of the show on telev ...

'', which received critical acclaim in mainland China. She has since directed a number of television series, including ''

The Emperor in Han Dynasty ''The Emperor in Han Dynasty'', also released under the title ''The Emperor Han Wu'' in some countries, is a 2005 Chinese historical drama television series based on the life of Emperor Wu of Han, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. It uses the histori ...

'' (2005), '' Qiao's Grand Courtyard'' (2006), and ''

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

'' (2014). In 2007, she was originally selected to direct a television series adaptation of the Chinese classical novel '' A Dream of the Red Chamber'' but withdrew from the job (she was replaced by

Li Shaohong Li Shaohong (born 7 July 1955) is a Chinese film and television director and producer. She is considered a member of the Fifth Generation movement, and China's top woman director. Her films have won multiple awards in China and abroad, includin ...

). Her 2010 film ''

Confucius Confucius ( ; zh, s=, p=Kǒng Fūzǐ, "Master Kǒng"; or commonly zh, s=, p=Kǒngzǐ, labels=no; – ) was a Chinese philosopher and politician of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. C ...

'', starring

Chow Yun-fat Chow Yun-fat (born 18 May 1955), previously known as Donald Chow, is a Hong Kong actor. He is perhaps best known for his collaborations with filmmaker John Woo in the five Hong Kong action heroic bloodshed films: ''A Better Tomorrow'', ''A Be ...

as the eponymous character, was released in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

on 14 January 2010.

Life

Hu was an actress in the Modern Drama Troupe of the General Political Division of the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

. Her father was a conductor and mother was a singer. Hu was trained to play the piano from a very young age. When the

reopened in 1978, she enrolled for the directing class under her father's encouragement. After graduation in 1982, she was assigned to the

Bayi Film Studio August First Film Studio, or Bayi Film Studio ( Chinese: 八一电影制片厂; pinyin: ''Bāyī diànyǐng zhì piàn chǎng)'', is the only military film studio in China. It was founded on August 1, 1952 to film It is a comprehensive film stud ...

. In 1984, she made her first film ''Women's Chamber'' (女儿楼, ''Nü'er Lou''). Two years later, her film ''Times Away from War'' (远离战争的年代, ''Yuanli Zhanzheng de Niandai''), which is said to be the first Chinese psychological film, won her a number of international awards. Hu nearly went to France to pursue a Ph.D. in film, but abandoned the idea at the last minute. She spent nearly ten years shooting television commercials. She also started directing more commercialized films. ''Yongzheng Dynasty'' was her first major successful television series. Since then, she is considered a top-tiered television series director in China. In 2019, Hu won the Best Director award for ''Enter The Forbidden City'' at the

Chinese American Film Festival Chinese American Film Festival (CAFF) is an American film festival held every November since 2006 in California (with events in Los Angeles and San Francisco, previously also in San Diego). History In 2005, the Chinese American Film Festival w ...

in Los Angeles.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Mei 1958 births Living people Beijing Film Academy alumni Film directors from Beijing Chinese women film directors

Life

References

Further reading

External links