Christopher Sun is a Hong Kong film director and producer. He was educated at St. Paul's College and then studied in Britain, taking a master's degree in directing and cinematography at Sheffield Hallam University. In 1988 he joined Media Vision to work in advertising production, and in 1989 he took part in film production for the first time, working on John Woo's The Killer. After Star TV acquired Media Vision in 1990 he became a programme operations officer for its Chinese channel, directing and producing programmes and station promotions. In 1999 he wrote and directed the independent short film Yi Sam Bei Mong, which won a young director award at the 50th Montecatini International Short Film Festival in Italy. In 2004 he became a creative and production consultant for Walt Disney's Asia-Pacific television arm, overseeing output such as the Disney Park Magic World series. In 2011 he directed 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy, a loose adaptation of Li Yu's seventeenth-century novel The Carnal Prayer Mat, starring Hiro Hayama and Leni Lan, produced by Stephen Shiu and Shiu Ting-yat and featuring the Japanese actresses Saori Hara and Yukiko Suo. Shot with 3D cameras, it opened simultaneously in Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea on 14 April, ran about 112 minutes, took some HK$2.78 million on its first day and finished with about HK$41.07 million, making it the year's highest-grossing Hong Kong film; it also earned roughly NT$17 million in Taiwan. The picture was billed as the world's first 3D Category III film. In 2023 a feature he directed premiered on Tencent Video, and in May 2024 his film Cha Wu Ci Ren opened in Hong Kong cinemas. Sun has moved from advertising and television production into commercial cinema, working across documentary, thriller and comedy.
Christopher Sun's 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy (2011) took about HK$40 million to become that year's highest-grossing Hong Kong film and one of the territory's first 3D adult features, prompting wide discussion of 3D filmmaking locally.
Achievements
- 1989 · Took part in film production for the first time, working on John Woo's The Killer.
- 1999 · Wrote and directed the short Yi Sam Bei Mong, winning a young director award at the 50th Montecatini International Short Film Festival.
- 2011 · Directed 3D Sex and Zen: Extreme Ecstasy, the year's top-grossing Hong Kong film with about HK$41.07 million.
- 2024 · His film Cha Wu Ci Ren opened in Hong Kong cinemas.