Sylvia Chang Ai-chia (Chinese: 張艾嘉; pinyin: Zhāng Àijiā; born 21 July 1953) is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director.[2] In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival.[3] In 2018, she was one of the jury members of the main competition section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival.
Sylvia Chang | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
張艾嘉 | |||||||||||
Born | (1953-07-21) 21 July 1953 (age 69) Dalin, Chiayi County, Taiwan | ||||||||||
Other names | Zhang Aijia | ||||||||||
Occupation | Actress, writer, director, singer, producer | ||||||||||
Years active | 1973–present | ||||||||||
Spouse(s) | Bob Liu
(m. 1979; div. 1984)Billy Wang (m. 1991) | ||||||||||
Children | 1 | ||||||||||
Chinese name | |||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 張艾嘉 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 张艾嘉 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
Chang was born in Chiayi, Taiwan. She dropped out of school when she was 16, and started her career as a radio DJ.[4] When she was 18 years old she acted in her first film.[5]
Chang acted in her first film, The Tattooed Dragon (龍虎金剛) (1973), when she was 18 years old.[6] Chang often attempted to do her own stunts in the four-part film series Aces Go Places.[7]
She stated in an interview with film editor Clarence Tsui, "I still think Hong Kong's film industry is male-dominated".[8] She also believes that "There aren't many male filmmakers who would write scripts for women".[8] She helped write the script of Run Papa Run,[9] based on the novel by Benny Li Shuan Yan,[10] that follows a man who belongs to the Triad and the relationship he has with his mother, wife, and daughter.[6] Chang said in an interview that, "I thought why don't I explore the gentler side of men".
Chang first began performing in theatre productions more than 30 years ago. She returned to the stage in the production of Design For Living that premiered in November 2008 and went on into 2009.[11] Chang stated in an interview that, "The reason for me to take on stage play again after 20 years is because I was lured by the director, he has invited handsome guys like Zheng Yuan Chang [sic] and David Huang into the play".[11] Critics have remarked upon the versatility in her roles along with her willingness to always try for something new.[12]
Chang is also a singer and her music has become popular in karaoke,[4] where her song "The Cost of Love" is commonly sung.[4]
In the 1980s, Chang's second film to direct, Passion, which she wrote and also starred in, won the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress.[4] She has stated, "I had never went to any school as a director or a filmmaker, so all my film education actually was from the set".[13]
For a time, Chang was the head producer of New Cinema City in Taiwan, but left a few years after joining.[13] In 20 30 40, she played the 40-year-old woman protagonist, wrote and directed it.[9]
Chang once said of her films that, "I've always felt that animation or special effects shouldn't just be limited to science-fiction films and their ilk. Dramas can also play around with them".[6] One critic wrote of her, that "In an industry that kisses young actresses with celebrity, then swallows them and spits them out, Chang has a sequoia's longevity. She is the only Hong Kong actress of her generation—the early '70s—to keep starring in movies".[5]
Chang's films have been accepted into the London and Toronto International film Festivals.[14] She has served on the jury for the Berlin Film Festival.[14] She also holds the record for the most nominations for Hong Kong Film Award for Best Actress, with nine nominations and 2 wins.[citation needed]
Chang married Hong Kong-based journalist Bob Liu in 1979. They divorced in 1984. Chang married Taiwanese businessman Billy Wang Jing-xiong in 1991 and they have one son, Oscar. She also has two stepsons.[1]
In July 2000, Chang's nine-year-old son Oscar was kidnapped and held for a ransom of HK $15 million.[1] The police found him after a few days, safe, and arrested the kidnappers.[15] Chang stated, "With your life, you have to move on, there's no other choice; so, out of no choice, then, it's a matter of your attitude".[13]
Chang is an advocate and a "life-long volunteer" for World Vision International,[16] the humanitarian aid, development, and advocacy organization. She created an advertisement, sponsored by World Vision, to promote the company, World Vision Advertisement on YouTube. She is a member and advocate for the World Vision-sponsored "30 Hour Famine."
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1981 | Once Upon a Time | Co-director, co-writer | |
1986 | Passion | Director, writer | |
1987 | Yellow Story | Director | |
1989 | All About Ah-Long | Co-writer (story) | |
1991 | Sisters of the World Unite | Director, co-writer, producer | |
1992 | Mary from Beijing | Director, writer | |
1992 | Three Summers | Co-writer, producer | |
1994 | In Between | Director, writer, producer |
|
1995 | Siao Yu | Director, co-writer | |
1995 | I Want to Go on Living | Co-writer | |
1996 | Tonight Nobody Goes Home | Director, co-writer | |
1998 | Bishonen | Executive producer | |
1999 | Tempting Heart | Director, co-writer | |
2002 | Princess D | Director, co-writer, producer | |
2004 | 20 30 40 | Director, co-writer | |
2008 | Run Papa Run | Director, co-writer | |
2007 | Happy Birthday | Co-writer | |
2011 | 10+10 | Writer | segment "The Dusk of the Gods" |
2012 | My Way | Executive producer | Documentary |
2015 | Murmur of the Hearts | Director, co-writer | |
2015 | Office | Writer | |
2017 | Love Education | Director, co-writer | |
2021 | Hero | Director | segment "Hong Kong" |
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
1976 | 13th Golden Horse Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Posterity and Perplexity | Won |
1980 | 17th Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | White Jasmine | Nominated |
1981 | 18th Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | My Grandfather | Won |
1983 | 2nd Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Aces Go Places | Nominated |
1985 | 4th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Shanghai Blues | Nominated |
1986 | 23rd Golden Horse Awards | Best Feature Film | Passion | Nominated |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Won | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | |||
1987 | 6th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | |
1989 | 26th Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | Full Moon in New York | Nominated |
1990 | 9th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Eight Taels of Gold | Nominated |
All About Ah-Long | Nominated | |||
1991 | 10th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Queen of Temple Street | Nominated |
1995 | 32nd Golden Horse Awards | Best Feature Film | Siao Yu | Nominated |
Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Asia-Pacific Film Festival | Best Film | Won | ||
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
1996 | 33rd Golden Horse Awards | Best Feature Film | Tonight Nobody Goes Home | Nominated |
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Asia-Pacific Film Festival | Best Screenplay | Won | ||
1999 | 1st Jutra Awards | Best Actress | The Red Violin | Nominated |
36th Golden Horse Awards | Best Feature Film | Tempting Heart | Nominated | |
2000 | 19th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Director | Nominated | |
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
2001 | 38th Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | Forever and Ever | Nominated |
2002 | 7th Golden Bauhinia Awards | Best Actress | Won | |
21st Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
2nd Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
Asian Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
2004 | 41st Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | Rice Rhapsody | Nominated |
54th Berlin International Film Festival | Golden Bear | 20 30 40 | Nominated | |
2005 | 24th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
5th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Film | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Actress | Nominated | |||
Asian Film Critics Association Awards | Best Actress | Won | ||
Newport Beach Film Festival | Best Actress | Rice Rhapsody | Won | |
2006 | 25th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
2007 | 26th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Happy Birthday | Nominated |
2008 | 45th Golden Horse Awards | Best Director | Run Papa Run | Nominated |
2009 | 28th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Screenplay | Nominated | |
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Screenplay | Nominated | ||
2010 | 47th Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | Buddha Mountain | Nominated |
2012 | 12th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | |
2015 | 52nd Golden Horse Awards | Best Actress | Office | Nominated |
Best Adapted Screenplay | Nominated | |||
2016 | 35th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | |
Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Director | Murmur of the Hearts | Nominated | |
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
Best Actress | Office | Nominated | ||
16th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Mountains May Depart | Nominated | |
2017 | 54th Golden Horse Awards | Best Feature Film | Love Education | Nominated |
Best Director | Nominated | |||
Best Leading Actress | Nominated | |||
Best Original Screenplay | Nominated | |||
2018 | 12th Asian Film Awards[18] | Best Director | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Won | |||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Lifetime Achievement Award | — | Honored | ||
37th Hong Kong Film Awards | Best Director | Love Education | Nominated | |
Best Actress | Nominated | |||
Best Screenplay | Won | |||
9th China Film Director's Guild Awards[19] | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
Best Screenwriter | Won | |||
Best Hong Kong / Taiwan Director | Won | |||
23rd Huading Awards | Best Director | Nominated | ||
Best Actress | Nominated | |||
29th Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild Awards | Best Director | Won | ||
18th Chinese Film Media Awards | Best Actress | Nominated | ||
Best Screenplay | Nominated | |||
Best Director | Nominated | |||
25th Beijing College Student Film Festival | Best Screenplay | Won | ||
25th Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards | Best Screenplay | Nominated | ||
Best Director | Won | |||
2022 | 59th Golden Horse Awards | Best Leading Actress | A Light Never Goes Out | Pending |
Films directed by Sylvia Chang | |
---|---|
|
Awards for Sylvia Chang | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
General | |
---|---|
National libraries | |
Other |
|