Lee Chi-ngai went to Canada to study art and later attended the London Film School, returning to Hong Kong in 1984 to work as an art director. In 1988 he co-directed the thriller Vengeance Is Mine with Billy Tang, his first time directing. In 1991 he wrote and directed Marriage Is a Fiction, which brought his first Best Screenplay nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards. In the early 1990s he co-founded the United Filmmakers Organisation (UFO) with Eric Tsang, Peter Chan Ho-sun, Jacob Cheung, James Yuen and others, becoming one of its core members. In 1993 he co-directed Tom, Dick and Hairy with Peter Chan and co-wrote its script with James Yuen and Chan Hing-kai, the film earning several Hong Kong Film Award nominations; the same year the pair worked together again on He Ain't Heavy, He's My Father, starring Tony Leung Ka-fai and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, whose script Lee also wrote. In 1994 he co-wrote Peter Chan's He's a Woman, She's a Man. In 1995 he directed Mack the Knife, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and adapted from a Japanese manga; a signature work, it brought him Best Director and Best Screenplay nominations at the Golden Bauhinia Awards. In 1996 Lost and Found earned him another Best Screenplay nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards, and after it was shown at the Tokyo International Film Festival it attracted the interest of Japanese distributors and helped him enter the Japanese market. In 1998 he directed the Hong Kong-Japan co-production Sleepless Town, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro. In 2004 he directed Magic Kitchen, starring Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng, nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 41st Golden Horse Awards. In 2013 he directed one segment of the portmanteau horror film Tales from the Dark, and in 2014 he wrote and directed Horseplay, starring Tony Leung Ka-fai. As UFO gradually wound down, Lee continued to work as a freelance writer-director.
Lee Chi-ngai was one of the core members of the United Filmmakers Organisation, a group that in the 1990s steered Hong Kong cinema towards urban romance and light comedy, his collaborations with Peter Chan proving especially influential. He directed relatively few films, but Mack the Knife and Lost and Found remain touchstones of Hong Kong urban cinema.
Achievements
- 1988 · Co-directed Vengeance Is Mine with Billy Tang, his directorial debut
- 1991 · Wrote and directed Marriage Is a Fiction, earning a Best Screenplay nomination at the Hong Kong Film Awards
- 1993 · Co-directed Tom, Dick and Hairy with Peter Chan
- 1995 · Directed his signature work Mack the Knife