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Spotlight On Hong Kong

HONG KONG FILMMAKER IN PROFILE
SANDRA NG: THE QUEEN OF COMEDY

Part of the artistic fabric of life in her native Hong Kong, Sandra Ng is a household name as both an iconic comedic actor and a versatile performer who has moved into directing and producing across multiple genres. Her credits – comprising more than 100 films since her debut in 1985 – are a roll call in commercial Chinese-language film-making, where she has held the title of ‘Queen of Comedy’ for decades. A marquee name at the Hong Kong and Chinese box office, she has also delivered multiple award-winning dramatic performances, demonstrating her unique versatility.

As a female performer, Ng holds the record at her home box office, appearing in countless comedy hits and becoming a bankable part of the vital Chinese New Year release calendar. From the all-star ALL’S WELL, ENDS WELL series, to her one-woman GOLDEN CHICKENS franchise, Ng has been an irresistible performer in Hong Kong and mainland China, where her huge successes include the two MONSTER HUNT films and JIAN BING MAN.

But Ng has consistently looked to spread her wings past comedic roles – back as far as 1996, when she worked with DoP Christopher Doyle and producer William Chang to make the under-rated THE FOUR FACES OF EVE, in which she starred and which secured Ng her first Hong Kong Film Awards nomination. By 1998, PORTLAND STREET BLUES would win her that award as well as Hong Kong Film Critics Society and Golden Bauhinia statuettes.

Since then, Ng has continuously challenged herself and excelled: from the triad gangster’s wife in JIANG HU: THE TRIAD ZONE (2000), to the aspiring dancer in DANCE OF A DREAM (2001), and her Golden Horse-winning performance as a resilient prostitute in GOLDEN CHICKEN (2002). The final film in that franchise, 2015’s 12 GOLDEN DUCKS, saw Ng take the lead role as a male gigolo. By 2017 she was ready to direct – and star, as an exorcist – in GOLDBUSTER, a supernatural comedy set in a haunted apartment block in China. The GOLDEN CHICKEN series also led her into producing, culminating in ZERO TO HERO (2021) and CHILLI LAUGH STORY (2022). Her latest, LOVE LIES (2024) is scheduled to be released in Hong Kong this fall.

Sandra Ng’s international accolades are numerous, and include becoming the New York Asian Film Festival’s first female recipient of the Star Asia award back in 2014. Her performance in 2010’s ECHOES OF THE RAINBOW helped that film to its Crystal Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, for example. But perhaps the biggest testament to her success is the enduring nature of her appeal: she is a much loved and admired performer. Between her vocal performance on the hit Hong Kong animated series McDULL, as well as being the host of the long-running radio show Wa!Wa!Wa! on Commercial Radio, her voice has been a soundtrack to the lives of Hong Kongers as well.

Ng also made history in 2022 as the first Hong Kong actress to join The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). And she continues to challenge herself and audiences while helping raise a new generation of Hong Kong filmmakers to international prominence.

Featured Films

This year’s SPOTLIGHT ON HONG KONG is a stellar collection of Hong Kong films that showcase big stars (Sandra Ng in LOVE LIES; Dayo Wong and Michael Hui in THE LAST DANCE), a painstakingly restored classic of Tsui Hark’s SHANGHAI BLUES; FLY ME TO THE MOON and ALL SHALL BE WELL showing the diversity of class, gender and sexuality of Hong Kong life; and an old school “film within a film” with STUNTMAN.