Lou Ye

Quality 0.50 · 1 view · Updated 2 months ago

Chinese director and screenwriter

title: "Lou Ye" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["film-directors-from-shanghai", "screenwriters-from-shanghai", "beijing-film-academy-alumni", "1965-births", "living-people", "international-writing-program-alumni", "best-screenplay-asian-film-award-winners"] description: "Chinese director and screenwriter" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Ye" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Chinese director and screenwriter ::

::data[format=table title="infobox person"]

FieldValue
nameLou Ye
imageLou Ye (娄烨) - Interview in 2014.jpg
captionLou Ye in 2014
birth_date
birth_placeShanghai
occupationFilmmaker
years_active1990s–present
module{{Infobox Chinese
t婁燁
s娄烨
pLóu Yè
::

| name = Lou Ye | image = Lou Ye (娄烨) - Interview in 2014.jpg | alt = | caption = Lou Ye in 2014 | birth_date = | birth_place = Shanghai | occupation = Filmmaker | years_active = 1990s–present | module = {{Infobox Chinese|child=yes | t = 婁燁 | s = 娄烨 | p = Lóu Yè

Lou Ye (), born 1965, is a Chinese screenwriter-director who is commonly grouped with the "Sixth Generation"{{cite news | url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/06/28/bfsfs28.xml | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20021017092323/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2002/06/28/bfsfs28.xml | url-status =dead | archive-date =2002-10-17 | title = In the Realm of Censors | accessdate = 2007-04-30| author =*The Daily Telegraph * Staff|date= 2006-02-28 | newspaper = The Daily Telegraph}} directors of Chinese cinema. In June 2018, Lou was invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Career

Born in Shanghai, Lou was educated at the Beijing Film Academy. In 1993, he made his first film Weekend Lover, but it was not released until two years later, having its world premiere at the International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg where it received the Rainer Werner Fassbinder Award. Between completion and premiere of Weekend Lover he made and released Don't Be Young, a thriller about a girl who takes her nightmares as real, in 1994. Lou, however, did not gain international prominence until his third film, the neo-noir Suzhou River. That film dealt with questions of identity and proved quite controversial upon its release in China. Upon its release, international audiences praised Suzhou River, which several critics felt evoked Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, particularly in how both films focus on a man obsessed with a mysterious woman.

Lou—along with actress Nai An—founded the independent production company Dream Factory in 1998, which would go on to produce most of Lou's films.

In 2003 Lou released Purple Butterfly starring Zhang Ziyi. The film is a tale of revenge and betrayal taking place during the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, with a complex narrative structure borrowing heavily from film noir traditions.

Lou's next film, Summer Palace (2006), a story of two lovers in the backdrop of the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, again brought Lou into conflict with Chinese authorities, resulting in a five-year ban for both him and his producer. In order to circumvent the ban, his next film, Spring Fever, was shot surreptitiously in Nanjing and registered as a Hong Kong-French coproduction to avoid censors. The film was shown in competition at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival where writer Mei Feng won the Best Screenplay Award.

Censorship in China

Lou Ye's films have proven controversial in their content, and often deal with issues of sexuality, gender, and obsession. Government censors banned his first film Weekend Lover for two years, while his breakout film Suzhou River was banned (with Lou receiving a 2-year ban from filmmaking) but has since been authorized in China.

Later, after Lou submitted Summer Palace to the 2006 Cannes Film Festival without approval from Chinese censors, he was banned from film-making again, this time for five years. The film itself was also banned, though according to Lou this was because it was not up to the SARFT's standards for picture and sound quality.

Lou also had to re-edit his film The Shadow Play for two years before he was granted a distribution license in mainland China. The film's plot centers on the investigation of a corruption scandal, inspired by real events in Xiancun. It also touches upon the issue of forced evictions of urban villages in Guangzhou during China's reform and opening up.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

YearEnglish titleChinese titleNotes1994199520002001200320062009201120122014201820192024
Don't be young危情少女
Weekend Lover周末情人
Suzhou River苏州河
"In Shanghai"在上海Documentary short, 16m
Purple Butterfly紫蝴蝶
Summer Palace頤和園
Spring Fever春风沉醉的夜晚Best Screenplay Award at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival
Golden Horse Award for Best Film Editing
Love and Bruises花
Mystery浮城谜事Asian Film Award for Best Film
Blind Massage推拿Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival
Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature
Asian Film Award for Best Film
The Shadow Play风中有朵雨做的云
Saturday Fiction兰心大剧院
An Unfinished Film一部未完成的电影2024 Cannes Film Festival Special Screenings
Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature
::

Awards and nominations

::data[format=table]

AwardYearCategoryFilmResultAsian Film AwardsBerlin International Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalChina Film Director's Guild AwardsFestival du Film de ParisGijón International Film FestivalGolden Horse AwardsInternational Filmfestival Mannheim-HeidelbergInternational Film Festival RotterdamTOKYO FILMeXVenice Film FestivalVienna International Film Festival
2013Best DirectorMystery
Best Screenwriter
2015Best DirectorBlind Massage
2014Golden BearBlind Massage
2003Palme d'OrPurple Butterfly
2006Summer Palace
2009Spring Fever
2012Prix Un Certain RegardMystery
2024L'Œil d'orAn Unfinished Film
2015Director of the YearBlind Massage
2000Grand PrixSuzhou River
2019Best DirectorSaturday Fiction
2012Best DirectorMystery
Best Original Screenplay
2014Best DirectorBlind Massage
2018The Shadow Play
2024An Unfinished Film
1996Special Award in memoriam Rainer Werner FassbinderWeekend Lover
2000Tiger AwardSuzhou River
2000Grand PrixSuzhou River
2024Audience AwardAn Unfinished Film
2011Giornate degli Autori AwardLove and Bruises
2019Golden LionSaturday Fiction
2000FIPRESCI PrizeSuzhou River
::

References

References

  1. Valens, Grégory. (2003). "Purple Butterfly". FilmFestivals.com.
  2. Hu, Brian. (2005-02-03). "Above Ground and Over His Head". Asia Pacific Arts.
  3. (2018-06-25). "ACADEMY INVITES 928 TO MEMBERSHIP".
  4. Scott, A.O.. (2000-03-25). "Film Festival Review; A Chill Scene for Shadowy Characters". [[The New York Times]].
  5. (2000-03-20). "Think Global, Act Local". [[The Village Voice]].
  6. Lu, Hongwei. (2010-10-01). "Shanghai and Globalization through the Lens of Film Noir: Lou Ye's 2000 Film, Suzhou River". ASIANetwork Exchange: A Journal for Asian Studies in the Liberal Arts.
  7. (2017-01-11). "Announcing The Jury Members Of The 2017 Sundance Film Festival".
  8. Pedroletti, Brice. (2012-11-20). "Mystery (Fucheng mishi) - review". The Guardian.
  9. McCarthy, Todd. (2009-04-16). "Cannes taps heavy hitters".
  10. "《苏州河》资料—中国—电影—优酷网，视频高清在线观看—又名：《Suzhou River》".
  11. ''Variety'' Staff. (2006-09-04). "China gives 'Palace' pair 5-year bans".
  12. Jones, Arthur. (2007-02-08). "'Banned filmmaker' is a relative term".
  13. (2019-04-08). "娄烨这部新片告诉你艺术片发行有多难 《风雨云》首周破5100万 临上映仍在修改".
  14. Li, Huihui. (2023-08-23). "娄烨纪录片，道出中国电影制作的普遍现实". Post Wave Film.
  15. (2019-06-26). "娄烨 {{!}} 一件事如果没有被记录，就没有发生". [[Harper's_Bazaar#Harper's_Bazaar_China.
  16. (2019-04-01). "娄烨电影《风中有朵雨做的云》过审 将如期上映".
  17. Rosser, Michael. (2024-04-23). "Lou Ye's Cannes title 'An Unfinished Film' heads to Coproduction Office, lands first sales".
  18. (2024-05-16). "An Unfinished Film: Lou Ye tells the story of a doomed film project".
  19. Napolitano, Dean. (March 18, 2013). "'Mystery' Named Best Film at Asian Film Awards".
  20. Frater, Patrick. (2015-02-25). "Asian Film Awards Nominations Headed by Ann Hui’s ‘Golden Era’".
  21. Coonan, Clifford. (2014-02-17). "China’s Film Industry Celebrates Berlinale Triumph".
  22. "LOU Ye".
  23. "2024 Competition".
  24. Coonan, Clifford. (2015-04-12). "China Film Directors Guild Honors ‘Black Coal, Thin Ice’ With Three Awards".
  25. (2000-04-05). "Le palmarès".
  26. González, David. (2019-11-25). "Vitalina Varela shines bright at the Gijón Film Festival".
  27. (2012-10-02). "2012年第49屆金馬獎入圍名單出爐 《浮城謎事》為最大入圍贏家".
  28. (2014-10-24). "2014第51屆金馬獎完整入圍名單".
  29. "拍吧，不然就忘了──獨家專訪《風中有朵雨做的雲》導演婁燁 - 報導者 The Reporter".
  30. Wong, Silvia. (24 November 2024). "‘An Unfinished Film’, ‘Bel Ami’ among top winners at Golden Horse Awards".
  31. "1996 {{!}} 45th International Film Festival Mannheim Heidelberg".
  32. Romney, Jonathan. (7 February 2000). "Fresh talent picks up Tigers at Rotterdam".
  33. Osaki, Tad. (2000-12-27). "Tokyo Filmex taps ‘Suzhou’".
  34. (2024-12-01). "フィルメックス授賞式".
  35. Hopewell, John. (2011-08-31). "China’s ban hasn’t stopped director Lou Ye working".
  36. "Lan xin da ju yuan (Saturday Fiction)".
  37. "38th Viennale – Vienna International Film Festival".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

film-directors-from-shanghaiscreenwriters-from-shanghaibeijing-film-academy-alumni1965-birthsliving-peopleinternational-writing-program-alumnibest-screenplay-asian-film-award-winners