- “China’s Spielberg” joins Wong Kar-Wai and Ang Lee under CAA representation.
- Feng’s films have grossed over US$1 billion at China’s box office.
- His latest film, I Am Not Madame Bovary, will premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Director and actor Feng Xiaogang
Prominent Chinese director Feng Xiaogang has signed with Hollywood’s Creative Artists Agency (CAA), the agency announced on Monday.
Feng is one of the country’s most successful directors, with blockbusters including The Banquet, Aftershock, and If You Are the One.
Aftershock was selected as the Chinese entry for Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards in 2011, but did not make the Oscar shortlist.
His films have accounted for nearly US$1 billion at the Chinese box office and he has received more than 25 awards.
He is best known in China for his mastery of lighthearted hesui pian comedies, made to screen around the Chinese New Year.
The 58-year-old is also an actor, producer, and writer. Last year Feng wowed local audiences with his depiction of the title character in Mr. Six.
His most recent film, I Am Not Madame Bovary (我不是潘金莲), starring Fan Bingbing, will premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.
In a departure from his normally strongly commercial style, the film will be presented in an innovative round-screen format.
Feng, who has who has been described by Newsweek as “China’s Spielberg,” has been vocal about the nation’s censors holding back the country’s film industry.
In 2014, Feng joined with Jackie Chan to make a passionate plea for less censorship of their films at a high-level Communist Party meeting in Beijing.
More recently, Feng has decried the “low quality” of below-the-line workers as “a big barrier to the development of the Chinese film industry.”
CAA also represents Chinese directors including Zhang Yimou and Lu Chuan, Hong Kong directors John Woo and Wong Kar Wai, and Oscar-winning Chinese-American director Ang Lee, along with actors Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Donnie Yen and Yu Nan.
