Liao Ming-yi (; born 1980) is a Taiwanese filmmaker best known for his directorial and cinematographic debut ''

I WeirDo ''I WeirDO'' () is a 2020 Taiwanese romantic drama film written and directed by Liao Ming-yi (in his feature directorial debut), and starring Austin Lin, Nikki Hsieh. The film had its world premiere at the 22nd Far East Film Festival on June 2 ...

'' (2020), which is the first Asian feature film to be shot entirely on an iPhone and earned him nominations for

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V (1989 film), Henry V'' **Runners-up: St ...

and

Best Cinematography 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 ...

in the

57th Golden Horse Awards The 57th Golden Horse Awards () was held on November 21, 2020 at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall in Taipei, Taiwan. Organized by the Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival Executive Committee, the awards honored the best in Chinese-language Chi ...

Biography

Liao was born in 1980 in

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

, Taiwan. He developed an early interest in western painting and pursued his studies at Fu-Hsin Trade & Arts School. He became interested in films after watching the Taiwanese drama film ''

Rebels of the Neon God ''Rebels of the Neon God'' () is a 1992 Taiwanese drama film written and directed by Tsai Ming-liang in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Lee Kang-sheng, Chen Chao-jung, and Jen Chang-bin. Plot A young man, Hsiao-Kang, attends a cram s ...

'' with his friends at the age of 12. He credited the works of Wong Kar-wai,

David Fincher David Andrew Leo Fincher (born August 28, 1962) is an American film director. His films, mostly psychological thrillers and biographical dramas, have received 40 nominations at the Academy Awards, including three for him as Best Director. Fin ...

, and

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...

as his major influence on film aesthetics. After graduating from high school, he attended Kun Shan University and obtained a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

in motion pictures and videos. He then attended the Graduate School of Applied Media Arts at the

National Taiwan University of Arts National Taiwan University of Arts (NTUA; ) is a university in Banqiao District, New Taipei City, Taiwan. It is the oldest and most prestigious art university in Taiwan. History National Taiwan University of Arts (NTUA) was established as the N ...

and earned a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in applied media arts. During his graduate school years, Liao interned at advertising companies and was exposed to filmmaking. He began cinematographing music videos for acquaintances and served as the cinematographer for Mi-sen Wu's documentaries. In 2010, he produced a short film, ''8624'', which won Special Mention in the general slate of the . Liao made his feature film debut in 2011 as the managing director and editor of the romance film ''

You Are the Apple of My Eye ''You Are the Apple of My Eye'' (, ) is a 2011 Taiwanese Coming of age film, coming of age romance film. It is based on the semi-autobiographical novel of the same name by Taiwanese author Giddens Ko, who also made his directorial debut with ...

''. He continued to work as an editor in the 2013 romantic comedy film '' Forever Love'', and made his screenwriting debut in the 2016 Chinese-Taiwanese romance film ''

At Cafe 6 ''At Cafe 6'' is a 2016 Chinese-Taiwanese romance film directed by Neal Wu and starring Dong Zijian, Cherry Ngan, Austin Lin, Ouyang Nini and Song Yiren. It was released in Taiwan on July 15, 2016 and in China on July 29, 2016. Plot On a rainy ...

'', where he also served as the managing director and did uncredited editing work. In 2017, Liao took on the roles of managing director and screenwriter for the comedy film ''

Didi's Dream ''Didi's Dream'' ( zh, 吃吃的愛; also known as ''Didi's Dreams'') is a 2017 Taiwanese-Chinese comedy film written and directed by Kevin Tsai. The film stars Dee Hsu, Lin Chi-ling, Jin Shijia and Li Zifeng. Premise When Didi, an aspiring actre ...

''. In 2020, Liao served as the director, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor for the romantic drama film ''

''. The film was entirely shot using an iPhone XS Max, making it the first Asian feature film to be cinematographed with an iPhone. Prior to the film, Liao had already shot a music video for

Crowd Lu Crowd Lu (; born 15 July 1985) is a Taiwanese singer, songwriter and actor. He is also nicknamed "Vitas Lu" after making a parody of the song Opera No. 2 by the Russian singer Vitas, having the ability to hit the same high notes. Due to a seri ...

entirely on an iPhone, which gained substantial attention on the internet and millions of views, inspiring him to explore this approach further in feature filmmaking. To accommodate the unique cinematography, Liao prepared by drafting scripts, creating storyboards, and capturing concept photos on set before filming each shot. ''I WeirDos innovative filming technique, plot, and subject matter garnered widespread acclaim. Liao won Best New Director in the 1st Directors Guild of Taiwan Awards, and was nominated for

and

in the

with the film. The following year, Liao was invited to produce the advertising short film for the 2021 Taipei Film Festival, for which he shot entirely with an

iPhone 12 Pro Max The iPhone 12 Pro and iPhone 12 Pro Max are smartphones designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. They are the flagship smartphones in the fourteenth generation of the iPhone, succeeding the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 Pro Max, respec ...

once again. Liao is set to direct the live-action adaptation of the Taiwanese manga '.

Filmography

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Liao, Ming-yi 1980 births Living people Taiwanese cinematographers Taiwanese film editors Taiwanese film directors Taiwanese screenwriters National Taiwan University of Arts alumni