Siu Wing, born Siu Ka-wing in Hong Kong and a native of Chaozhou in Guangdong, began working at the Kong Ngee company at the age of fourteen, learning the trade under the Cantonese film director Chun Kim. At eighteen he followed Chun to Shaw Brothers and worked on films such as Till the End of Time (1966) and Rose, Be My Love (1966). He then became Cheng Kang's assistant and second-unit director on The Twelve Gold Medallions (1970), The Fourteen Amazons (1972) and The Fortune Tellers (1973). His directorial debut was The Manhunt (1973), whose motorcycle chase won praise, followed by three further features. In 1977 Alan Tang engaged him to direct The Discharged (1977), after which he became the house director of Tang's Grand Film Company, helming many triad actioners of the 1970s and 80s, including Family Law (co-directed with Tang, 1979), One Hand Covers the Sky (1980), and titles starring Michael Chan. He also made other genres for the company, such as the 1986 film starring Anita Mui and a 1987 picture. When Tang dissolved Grand Film in 1987 and formed Movie Impact, Siu continued to direct for him. In the 1990s he directed films for Chinese Entertainment Movies such as a 1991 thriller and a 1993 drama, and also shot under the alias 'Ka Ka'. At the same time he developed a film and television career on the mainland as producer and director, on features from 1999 to 2007 and a 2011 television series, and also worked in animation.
Starting as a tea boy at Kong Ngee, Siu went on to steer many gangster actioners for Alan Tang's Grand Film Company, becoming a seasoned hand of Hong Kong's 1970s and 80s triad pictures. Works such as The Discharged are noted for their hard-edged violence and underworld loyalty, and he later moved into film and television production on the mainland.
Achievements
- 1966 · Joined Shaw Brothers with Chun Kim, working on Till the End of Time and other films
- 1973 · Made his directorial debut with The Manhunt
- 1977 · Directed The Discharged for Alan Tang and became the house director of Grand Film Company