Clara Law

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 and Autumn Moon.

Early life and education Clara Law was born on 29 May 1957 in Macau. At the age of 10 she moved to Hong Kong.

Law studied at the University of Hong Kong 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 in England. She won the Silver Plaque Award at the Chicago International Film Festival in 1985 for her graduation film They Say the Moon is Fuller Here.

Career Early career In 1978, Law joined Radio Television Hong Kong as an assistant producer and director. During her time there she tried many aspects of television, from screenwriting 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 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 and the Hong Kong Film Award for Best Director. 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 at the Locarno Film Festival 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 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 in France in 1994. The film was also selected for official screenings at the Toronto, Sundance, 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 Floating Life, which was completed in 1996. The film won the Silver Leopard Award at the Locarno Film Festival in 1996. It also won the Grand Prix Asturias and Best Director at the Gijón International Film Festival in Spain, and the Grand Prix at the Créteil International Women's Film Festival in France. It received three nominations at the Australian Film Institute Awards, including Best Achievement in Direction and Best Original Screenplay, as well as nine nominations at the Taipei Golden Horse Awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Floating Life was also Australia's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 69th Academy Awards (1997). The film was also screened at the Sydney, Melbourne, London, Rotterdam, Hof, Stockholm, Toronto, and Hawaii film festivals.

The Goddess of 1967, shot on location in the outback of Australia and Tokyo, Japan, was completed in 2000. It was in competition at the Venice Film Festival in 2000, where Rose Byrne won the Best Actress Award and Law nominated for the Golden Lion, the highest award at the festival. It won Best Director Awards at the Chicago International Film Festival and Teplice Art Film Festival in Slovakia, 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, Gothenburg, 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. It also opened the 2010 Hong Kong International Film Festival.

In 2010, Law made a short film, Red Earth, commissioned by the Hong Kong International Film Festival. The short was selected in the Orizzonti section at the 67th Venice International Film Festival.

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 Award Year Category Work Result International Film Festival Rotterdam 2022 Big Screen Competition Drifting Petals Taipei Golden Horse Awards 2021 Best Director 2009 Best Narrative Feature Like a Dream Best Director Best Original Screenplay Tromsø International Film Festival 2001 FIPRESCI Prize The Goddess of 1967 IFF Art Film Golden Key for Best Direction Venice Film Festival 2000 Golden Lion Chicago International Film Festival 2000 Silver Hugo for Best Director Créteil International Women's Film Festival 1997 Grand Prix Floating Life Taipei Golden Horse Awards 1996 Best Director Best Original Screenplay Gijón International Film Festival 1996 Grand Prix Asturias Best Director Australian Film Institute Awards 1996 Best Achievement in Direction Best Original Screenplay Locarno Film Festival 1996 Silver Leopard Hong Kong Film Awards 1994 Best Director Temptation of a Monk Créteil International Women's Film Festival 1994 Grand Prix Venice Film Festival 1993 Golden Lion Taipei Golden Horse Awards 1993 Best Director Autumn Moon Locarno Film Festival 1992 Golden Leopard Youth Jury "The environment is the quality of life" Prize CICAE Jury Prize Hong Kong Film Awards 1991 Best Director Farewell China Taipei Golden Horse Awards 1990 Best Director Chicago International Film Festival 1985 Silver Plaque They Say the Moon Is Fuller Here