Soi Cheang Pou-soi was born in Macau on 11 July 1972 and moved to Hong Kong with his family. He entered the film industry at nineteen, starting in junior production roles in television and film before working as an assistant director alongside filmmakers such as Ringo Lam; he served as assistant director on Lam's High Risk in 1995 before moving into directing himself. He made his feature debut with Our Last Day in 1999, and earned a nomination for Best New Director at the 22nd Hong Kong Film Awards for the thriller New Blood (2002). He directed Horror Hotline... Big Head Monster in 2001 and drew renewed attention with the raw, brutal realism of Dog Bite Dog (2006), later making Shamo. In 2009 his Accident, about hitmen who stage fatal accidents, was selected for the Venice Film Festival and confirmed his cold, precise style. He went on to direct commercial blockbusters including Motorway (2012), which brought him a Best Director nomination at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Awards, and The Monkey King (2014), followed by The Monkey King 2 (2016) and The Monkey King 3 (2018). Limbo (2021) was selected for the Berlin Film Festival and brought him a Best Director nomination at the 40th Hong Kong Film Awards; Mad Fate (2023) also appeared at Berlin, and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024) was shown as a Midnight Screening at Cannes. He won Best Director at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards in 2024 for Mad Fate and again at the 43rd in 2025 for Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, becoming one of the few directors to take the prize in consecutive years. His films, often centred on crime, violence and the darker side of society, have repeatedly been invited to international festivals.
With films such as Accident and Limbo, Soi Cheang builds a cold, oppressive urban landscape and carries Hong Kong genre cinema to international festivals. Mad Fate and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In show he can balance auteur style with box-office success, setting an example for a younger generation.
Achievements
- 2009 · Directed Accident, which was selected for the Venice Film Festival.
- 2024 · Won Best Director at the 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards for Mad Fate.
- 2025 · Won Best Director at the 43rd Hong Kong Film Awards for Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In.