Zhang Yang (; born 1967) 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 ...

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. ...

, and occasional actor. He is the son of film director, Zhang Huaxun. Zhang grew up 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 ...

, studied until 1988 at

Sun Yat-sen University Sun Yat-sen University (, abbreviated SYSU and colloquially known in Chinese as Zhongda), also known as Zhongshan University, is a national key public research university located in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It was founded in 1924 by and nam ...

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

, from which he graduated with a degree in Chinese literature, and then went to the

Central Academy of Drama The Central Academy of Drama (), abbreviated Zhong Xi (), is a drama school in Beijing, China. It is a Chinese state Double First Class University Plan university identified by the Ministry of Education of China. The school is the first theatre ...

, graduating in 1992.

Career

Zhang Yang uses a realistic style, and achieved great recognition for his 1999 independent production '' Xizao'' (; English translation: ''Shower''), which was successful at Chinese box offices as well as international film festivals. This was followed in 2001 by ''Zuotian'' ("

Quitting ''Quitting'' () is a 2001 Chinese drama film directed by Zhang Yang, starring and based on the true life story of Jia Hongsheng. Jia, an actor and former drug addict, battled his addiction to marijuana and heroin for five years from 1992 to 19 ...

" in its American release). The actors in this unusual story about a real actor,

Jia Hongsheng Jia Hongsheng (; 19 March 1967 – 5 July 2010) was a Chinese actor who became known in the late 1980s and early 1990s for roles in movies like ''The Case of the Silver Snake'' (1988), ''Good Morning, Beijing'' (1991), ''A Woman from North Shaan ...

, and his struggle with drug addiction are Jia himself, Jia's parents, fellow inmates in a mental institution, the director, Zhang, and others playing themselves. The relationship between parents and their grown children is as central to this film as it was in ''Shower''.

Filmography

As director

As actor

References

External links

*
Zhang Yang
at the Chinese Movie Database
Interview
with Zhang Yang from BBC-Films 1967 births Living people Male actors from Beijing Film directors from Beijing Screenwriters from Beijing Central Academy of Drama alumni People's Republic of China writers Chinese male film actors {{China-film-director-stub