Giddens Ko

Ko Ching-teng (; born 25 August 1978), also known by his English name Giddens Ko, is a Taiwanese novelist and filmmaker. He has published more than 60 books, many of which have been adapted as films.

Early life and education Ko was born on 25 August 1978 in Changhua County, Taiwan. He was the second of three sons to parents who owned a pharmacy. He graduated from National Chiao Tung University with a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in management science and earned a Master of Social Science (M.S.S.) from Tunghai University. Ko struggled through the first five years of his writing career, before branching out into multiple genres, namely horror, science fiction, and romance.

Directing films In 2008, Ko directed the film , along with Vincent Fang, Chen Yi-xian and Mickey Huang. based on his book . In 2011, Ko adapted his "Killer" series into the film The Killer Who Never Kills. He produced a documentary focusing on Taiwan's animal shelters in 2012, titled Twelve Nights. In 2014, another of Ko's books was adapted into the film Café. Waiting. Love. The film adaptation of another of Ko's books, Kung Fu, was originally set to be released in 2014, but its release date was pushed back to 2015. In September 2015, Ko announced another book–to–film adaption, The Tenants Downstairs, was to be released in 2016.

In 2012, Ko notified Apple Inc. that some approved applications on the company's iOS platform were accessing pirated versions of his books. Apple initially refused to pull the apps, as the company was unsure about Ko's publisher having proper authorization to contact them. Ko traveled to Hong Kong to file a complaint in person before the matter was resolved with the removal of the apps. On 9 October 2012, Ko was chosen as one of "Ten Outstanding Young People of Taiwan" by the Junior Chamber International Taiwan.

In 2017, Ko directed the high school horror-comedy film Mon Mon Mon Monsters. Ko originally intended for the film to be a mockumentary shot entirely on iPhone. This idea, however, was eventually disregarded as the project evolved into a more personal work inspired in part by the negative publicity the director was receiving at the time for his affair with Chou.

Personal life

Family In October 2014, Ko admitted to cheating on his girlfriend of nine years, Hsiao-nei, with television reporter Chou Ting-yu. In early May 2015, Ko confirmed that his relationship with Hsiao-nei had ended. Ko and Chou began dating in March 2016; they married in late 2017. On 4 April 2020, Ko announced the birth of their first child. Ko and his wife had their second child on 14 July 2022.

Political views In October 2014, it was reported that Beijing had ordered works by Ko removed from shelves in China. A few weeks previously, Ko had shaved his head to show solidarity for Occupy Central with Love and Peace, the organization that started the 2014 Hong Kong protests.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes 2007 Full Count 愛情兩好三壞 Writer Television series2009 L-O-V-E 愛到底 Director, writer, actor Segment "San sheng you xing"2011 The Killer Who Never Kills 殺手歐陽盆栽 Original story You Are the Apple of My Eye Director, writer, actor 2013 Machi Action 變身 Co-writer Twelve Nights 十二夜 Producer Documentary Kiss Me Mom! 媽，親一下！ Original story Television series2014 Café. Waiting. Love Producer, writer 2015 Kung Fu 功夫 Director, writer, original story 2016 The Tenants Downstairs Writer 2017 Mon Mon Mon Monsters Director, writer, producer 2020 A Choo 打噴嚏 Writer, producer 2021 Till We Meet Again Director 2023 Miss Shampoo Writer, director

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2011 48th Golden Horse Awards Best New Director You Are the Apple of My Eye Best Original Film Song "Those Years" - You Are the Apple of My Eye2012 31st Hong Kong Film Awards Best Film from Mainland and TaiwanYou Are the Apple of My Eye 12th Chinese Film Media Awards Best New Director 2017 21st Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival Audience Award Mon Mon Mon Monsters