Clara Law Cheuk-yiu (; born 29 May 1957) is a Hong Kong Second Wave film director who moved to Australia with her partner and fellow filmmaker Eddie Fong. She is known for such films as ''

Floating Life ''Floating Life'' is a 1996 Australian drama film directed by Clara Law about a Hong Kong family who move to Australia. The film was selected as the Australian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 69th Academy Awards, but was not acce ...

'' and '' Autumn Moon''.

Early life and education

Clara Law was born on 29 May 1957 in

Macau Macau or Macao is a special administrative regions of China, special administrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC). With a population of about people and a land area of , it is the most List of countries and dependencies by p ...

. At the age of 10 she moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. Law studied at the

University of Hong Kong The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as the University of ...

and graduated with a degree in English Literature. After a period of working in television in Hong Kong, in 1982 Law began studying film direction and writing at the

National Film and Television School The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is a film, television and games school established in 1971 and based at Beaconsfield Studios in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England. It is featured in the 2024 ranking by ''The Hollywood Repo ...

in England. She won the Silver Plaque Award at the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

in 1985 for her graduation film ''They Say the Moon is Fuller Here''.

Career

Early career

In 1978 Law joined

Radio Television Hong Kong Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) is the public broadcasting service of Hong Kong. GOW, the predecessor to RTHK, was established in 1928 as the first broadcasting service in Hong Kong. As a government department under the Commerce and Economic ...

as an assistant producer and director. During her time there she tried many aspects of television, from

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, dev ...

to directing. Between 1978 and 1981 she directed 12 drama programs for the television channel.

1985–1994

In 1985 she returned to Hong Kong and began development on her first long feature film ''The Other Half and the Other Half'', which was released in 1988. She then started working with Eddie Fong on all of her projects. In 1989 she created her second film, '' The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus''. The film was screened at the

Toronto Film Festival Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and was released commercially in the US. A year later, she created ''Farewell China'' and was nominated for the

Golden Horse Award for Best Director The Golden Horse Award for Best Director is an award presented annually at the Taipei Golden Horse Film Awards. Winners and nominees 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s See also * Academy Award for Best Director * Asian Film Award for Bes ...

and the

Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director The Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director is an award presented annually at the Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA). It is given to honour the best director of a Hong Kong film. The 1st Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held in 1982, with no formal nom ...

. She directed ''Fruit Punch'' in 1991, which was a commercial film produced by a large Hong Kong film studio. In 1992 she directed and produced '' Autumn Moon'', which won the

Golden Leopard The Golden Leopard () is the top prize at the Locarno International Film Festival, an international film festival held annually in Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. Directors in the process of getting an international reputation are allowed to b ...

at the

Locarno Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

in 1992, as well as the European Art Theatres Association Best Picture Award and the Youth Special Jury Award in Switzerland and the Best Screenplay in Valencia (1994). It was also awarded at the Belgium and Portugal film festivals. In 1993 she released '' Temptation of a Monk'', an adaptation of a

novella A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most novelettes and short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) ...

by Lillian Lee. The film was shot entirely on location in the north and northwestern part of China. It was selected for competition at the 50th Venice International Film Festival, and the Grand Prix at the

Créteil International Women's Film Festival The International Women's Film Festival, formerly known as Créteil International Women's Film Festival (in French Festival International de Films de Femmes (FIFF); formerly Festival international de films de femmes de Créteil), also known si ...

in France in 1994. The film was also selected for official screenings at the Toronto,

Sundance A Sun Dance is a Native American ceremony. Sun dance or Sundance may also refer to: Places ;Canada * Sundance, Calgary, Alberta, a neighbourhood * Sundance, Manitoba, a ghost town ;United States * Sundance, New Mexico, a census-designated pl ...

, Rotterdam, and Brisbane film festivals, and as the closing film at the L.A. Film Festival. In 1994, Law finished a segment of the movie '' Erotique'' called "Wonton Soup". Later that year she and Eddie Fong moved to Australia.

1994 – present

Law moved to Australia with her partner Eddie Fong in 1994. The couple's first film after their move to Australia is ''

'', which was completed in 1996. The film won the Silver Leopard Award at the

in 1996. It also won the Grand Prix Asturias and Best Director at the

Gijón International Film Festival The Gijón International Film Festival ( or ''FICXixón'') is an annual film festival held in Gijón, a city in northwest Spain. The festival is mainly concentrated on independent and auteur cinema. Gijón's International Short Film Competition ...

in Spain, and the Grand Prix at the

in France. It received three nominations at the

Australian Film Institute Awards The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, known as the AACTA Awards, are presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The awards recognise excellence in the film and television industr ...

, including Best Achievement in Direction and

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award (also known as an Oscar) for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best ...

, as well as nine nominations at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Director and

. ''

'' was also Australia's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the

69th Academy Awards The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremo ...

(1997). The film was also screened at the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, Hof,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and Hawaii film festivals. '' The Goddess of 1967'', shot on location in the

outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than Australian bush, the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastli ...

of Australia and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

, Japan, was completed in 2000. It was in competition at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

in 2000, where

Rose Byrne Mary Rose Byrne (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress. She made her screen debut in the film ''Dallas Doll'' (1994) , and continued to act in Australian film and television throughout the 1990s. She gained her first leading film role in ...

won the Best Actress Award and Law nominated for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguished prizes. In 1970, a ...

, the highest award at the festival. It won Best Director Awards at the

and Teplice Art Film Festival in

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

, and the FIPRESCI Critics' Award for Best Film at the Tromsø Film Festival in Norway. The film was also selected for official screenings at many other film festivals. She directed her first digital documentary in 2004 called '' Letters to Ali'' with Eddie Fong, who co-produced, edited, and shot the film. The film was selected for competition at the Venice Film Festival and for official screenings at the Toronto,

Pusan Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southe ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, and Melbourne film festivals. She completed ''Like a Dream'' in 2009, which marked her return to Asia. The film received nine nominations at the

46th Golden Horse Awards The 46th Golden Horse Awards was held on November 28, 2009. Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface. References External linksOfficial website {{DEFAULTSORT:Golden Horse Awards, 46 46th Taiwan Film Aw ...

. It also opened the 2010

Hong Kong International Film Festival The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) is one of Asia's oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies and filmmakers from different countries, and takes place in Hong Kong. HKIFF screens ...

. In 2010, Law made a short film, ''Red Earth'', commissioned by the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The short was selected in the

Orizzonti ''Orizzonti'' ( 'Horizons') is a section of the Venice Film Festival's official selection. It runs as a parallel section to the main competition for the Golden Lion The Golden Lion () is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Fe ...

section at the

67th Venice International Film Festival The 67th annual Venice International Film Festival, was held from 1 to 11 September 2010, at Venice Lido in Italy. American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino was the jury president for the main competition. The Golden Lion was awarded to ''Somewhere ...

. ''The Little Qipao Shop'', directed by Law and Fong, and produced by Sue Maslin and Charlotte Seymour, was under development in 2023.

Themes

Law's films explore themes surrounding migration and exile, including loyalty, family, love, and nostalgia. She has used a variety of visual and narrative styles throughout her oeuvre to interrogate cultural dislocation and its effect on individuals and communities.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Complete biography
on

Hong Kong Cinemagic Hong Kong Cinemagic, sometimes referred to as HKCinemagic, was a bilingual ( French and English) website providing a repository for information about Chinese language films from Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, and the people who created them. The we ...

Interview with Clara Law
on

Biography
on

Senses of Cinema ''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...

List of films
on

Film Reference A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law, Clara 1957 births Living people Hong Kong film directors Australian people of Chinese descent Hong Kong emigrants to Australia Australian film directors English-language film directors Australian women film directors Alumni of the University of Hong Kong 21st-century Macau people Hong Kong artists Hong Kong women artists Hong Kong women film directors