Philip Yung Tsz-kwong was born in Huiyang, Guangdong, on 23 March 1979 and is a Hong Kong director, screenwriter, film critic and online broadcaster who first became known as a reviewer before turning to writing and directing. After secondary school in Tsuen Wan he took the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild's writing-and-directing course and from 1998 worked in mid-production as a runner, assistant director and assistant art director, later becoming a producer. From 2001 he wrote reviews for Film Biweekly and am730 and became a full member of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society and the Hong Kong Film Critics' Association; from 2002 he served as an officer of the Hong Kong Film Culture Centre, promoting film and video culture. He directed his first feature in 2009, and in 2011 won a Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum award for the screenplay of Port of Call; he also wrote scripts for other directors in the early 2010s. His self-written and self-directed Port of Call (2015) earned nine Golden Horse nominations and thirteen Hong Kong Film Awards nominations, taking seven prizes including Best Screenplay and both lead acting awards; adapted from a real 2008 murder case, it starred Aaron Kwok and Jessie Li. He produced Madalena in 2022, directed Where the Wind Blows in 2023, which was Hong Kong's entry for the 95th Academy Awards, and directed Papa in 2024, winning best director at the 31st Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards.
Turning from criticism to direction, Yung adapted a real murder case into Port of Call, which took major prizes at the Hong Kong Film Awards and refocused attention on marginal subject matter; he went on to produce Madalena and direct Where the Wind Blows and Papa, moving between crime and family drama.
Achievements
- 2011 · Won a Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum award for the Port of Call screenplay
- 2015 · Wrote and directed Port of Call, which took seven Hong Kong Film Awards including Best Screenplay
- 2024 · Directed Papa and won best director at the 31st Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards