Between 1980 and 1989, renowned Taiwanese film director Hsiao-Hsien Hou helmed ten films, seven of which garnered prestigious awards from esteemed international film festivals in Venice, Berlin, Hawaii, and the Festival of the Three Continents in Nantes.
Born in a county in Kuangtung Province, China, Hou's formative years were shaped by the intellectual hub that his hometown was renowned for. In 1948, his family relocated to Taiwan, where he underwent an exceptionally demanding educational system. In 1969, he pursued a degree in film at the National Taiwan Arts Academy, graduating in 1972. Hou's early career consisted of brief stints as a salesman and scriptwriter, before he began his directorial journey as an assistant director.
Hou's cinematic endeavors frequently delve into his experiences growing up in rural Taiwan during the 1950s and 1960s, a period marked by the struggles of refugee families from the mainland and the onset of significant social change in Taiwan. The 1960s witnessed the dawn of Western-style industrialization and urbanization, further complicating the normal frustrations of adolescence. Hou's films are deeply personal expressions of these experiences, replete with nostalgic imagery and beautiful compositions that evoke a profound sense of identification with the past.
His stories, often co-written with scriptwriters T'ien-wen Chu and Nien-Jen Wu, intricately weave together the various strands that shape individual lives. With a poetic yet relaxed style, Hou's films reflect a profound sympathy and humanism, capturing the complex intertwining of fate and the struggles of families who endured difficult times.
As a globally recognized director, Hou was championed in a 1988 worldwide critics' poll as one of the three directors most crucial to the future of cinema.
