Lo Chi-leung entered the industry as an assistant director in 1989, working his way up from continuity and second-unit work in the teams of directors including Derek Yee and Peter Chan and on films such as 'C'est la vie, mon cheri' and 'Full Throttle'. 'Full Throttle' (1995) brought him a Best Screenplay nomination at the 15th Hong Kong Film Awards. In 1996 he co-directed 'Viva Erotica' with Derek Yee, starring Leslie Cheung and Karen Mok, earning a Best Director nomination at the 16th Hong Kong Film Awards; it was his first directing credit. In 2000 he directed 'Double Tap' solo for the first time, produced by Derek Yee and starring Leslie Cheung and Alex Fong, a psychological thriller about guns in which Cheung's cool restraint plays off the film's stand-offs, and which became one of his signature works. In 2002 he directed 'Inner Senses', starring Leslie Cheung and Karena Lam, a psychological thriller that was the last film Cheung starred in before his death; it won Lo Best New Director at the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards, where he was also nominated for Best Director. In 2012 and 2015 he directed 'The Bullet Vanishes' and its sequel, period crime films set in Republican China; the first, starring Sean Lau and Nicholas Tse, brought him Best Director and Best Screenplay at the 9th Huading Awards in 2013. His films are known for tight suspense, crime subject matter and a talent for building tension.
Lo Chi-leung was long Derek Yee's assistant before building his own style with crime and suspense films such as 'Double Tap' and 'Inner Senses', among the few Hong Kong directors early in the new century to specialise in psychological horror. Besides winning him Best New Director, 'Inner Senses' is remembered as the last film Leslie Cheung starred in, and in recent years Lo has turned to mainland-market police procedurals.
Achievements
- 1995 · Nominated for Best Screenplay at the 15th Hong Kong Film Awards for 'Full Throttle'
- 2000 · Directed 'Double Tap' solo for the first time, starring Leslie Cheung
- 2003 · Won Best New Director at the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards for 'Inner Senses'
- 2013 · Won Best Director and Best Screenplay at the 9th Huading Awards for 'The Bullet Vanishes'