Ho Fan
Encyclopedia
Ho Fan / 何藩 is a celebrated Chinese
Photographer, Film director
and Actor
. He has won over 280 awards from international exhibitions and competitions worldwide since 1956 for his photography.
camera his father gave him. Largely self-taught, his photos display a fascination with urban life, explored alleys, slums, markets and streets, depicting the street vendors and children only a few years younger than himself. He developed his images in the family bathtub and soon had built up a significant body of work, chronicling Hong Kong in the 50s and 60s as it was becoming a major metropolitan center.
Upon seeing Ho Fan's work for the first time in 2006, gallery owner Laurence Miller commented that "[t]hey felt like direct descendants of the Bauhaus
, yet they were made in Hong Kong. They were abstract and humanistic at the same time."
Ho Fan is a Fellow of the Photographic Society of America, the Royal Photographic Society and the Royal Society of Arts in England, and an Honorary Member of the Photographic Societies of Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy and Belgium.
Ho joined Shaw Brothers in 1961 to develop his career in cinema. He acted in several movies and was an assistant in the movie The Swallow (1961). Ho won praise for his performance as the Monk, Tripitaka, in the lavish Shaw Brothers adaption of Journey to the West
cycle of films (1. The Monkey Goes West (1966), 2. Princess Iron Fan (1966), 3. Land of Many Perfumes (1968) and 4. The Cave of Silken Web (1967)).
During the early 1960s he also produced a pioneering series of independent short films, the first of which 'Big City Little Man' / 大都市 小人物 (1963, 30min) won the "Honor Award Certificate" from the Japan International Film Festival, 1964.
Ho left Shaw Brothers in 1969 in order to developed his career as a director, making over 20 films with various studios in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He has had three films in the “Official Selection” of the International Film Festivals of Cannes, Berlin and San Francisco; and five of his films have been selected in the “Permanent Collection” of the National Film Archives of Taiwan and Hong Kong. As well as his independent film work he is acclaimed for pioneering the erotic field in cinema, with such cult films as 'Adventure In Denmark' (1973), 'The Girl With The Long Hair' (1975) and the highly successful 'Temptation Summary' (1990).
According to Mark Pinsukanjana, director of Modernbook Gallery in San Francisco, CA, his debut feature 'Lost' from 1969 is Ho's favorite. As Pinsukanjana said describes: "In "Lost", one will see the chaotic life of one man in Hong Kong. The film follows him and finds the beauty that surrounds him; he is lost because he never saw it. I think that one can say that this is similar to Fan Ho's photographs in the sense that Hong Kong is crowded, busy and chaotic to many, but for Fan Ho, he was able to convert [what he found] and find beauty."
He has also surved on the jury of the Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival and Hong Kong Oscar Film Award.
Short films:
Feature films:
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
Photographer, Film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and Actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He has won over 280 awards from international exhibitions and competitions worldwide since 1956 for his photography.
Biography
Fan Ho was born in Shanghai in 1937, but immigrated with his family to Hong Kong at an early age. Ho began photographing at a very young age with a RolleiflexRolleiflex
Rolleiflex is the name of a long-running and diverse line of high-end cameras originally made by the German company Franke & Heidecke, and later Rollei-Werk. The "Rolleiflex" name is most commonly used to refer to Rollei's premier line of medium format twin lens reflex cameras...
camera his father gave him. Largely self-taught, his photos display a fascination with urban life, explored alleys, slums, markets and streets, depicting the street vendors and children only a few years younger than himself. He developed his images in the family bathtub and soon had built up a significant body of work, chronicling Hong Kong in the 50s and 60s as it was becoming a major metropolitan center.
Upon seeing Ho Fan's work for the first time in 2006, gallery owner Laurence Miller commented that "[t]hey felt like direct descendants of the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
, yet they were made in Hong Kong. They were abstract and humanistic at the same time."
Ho Fan is a Fellow of the Photographic Society of America, the Royal Photographic Society and the Royal Society of Arts in England, and an Honorary Member of the Photographic Societies of Singapore, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, France, Italy and Belgium.
Film
Ho Fan is an accomplished and acclaimed Hong Kong film director and actor.Ho joined Shaw Brothers in 1961 to develop his career in cinema. He acted in several movies and was an assistant in the movie The Swallow (1961). Ho won praise for his performance as the Monk, Tripitaka, in the lavish Shaw Brothers adaption of Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
cycle of films (1. The Monkey Goes West (1966), 2. Princess Iron Fan (1966), 3. Land of Many Perfumes (1968) and 4. The Cave of Silken Web (1967)).
During the early 1960s he also produced a pioneering series of independent short films, the first of which 'Big City Little Man' / 大都市 小人物 (1963, 30min) won the "Honor Award Certificate" from the Japan International Film Festival, 1964.
Ho left Shaw Brothers in 1969 in order to developed his career as a director, making over 20 films with various studios in Hong Kong and Taiwan. He has had three films in the “Official Selection” of the International Film Festivals of Cannes, Berlin and San Francisco; and five of his films have been selected in the “Permanent Collection” of the National Film Archives of Taiwan and Hong Kong. As well as his independent film work he is acclaimed for pioneering the erotic field in cinema, with such cult films as 'Adventure In Denmark' (1973), 'The Girl With The Long Hair' (1975) and the highly successful 'Temptation Summary' (1990).
According to Mark Pinsukanjana, director of Modernbook Gallery in San Francisco, CA, his debut feature 'Lost' from 1969 is Ho's favorite. As Pinsukanjana said describes: "In "Lost", one will see the chaotic life of one man in Hong Kong. The film follows him and finds the beauty that surrounds him; he is lost because he never saw it. I think that one can say that this is similar to Fan Ho's photographs in the sense that Hong Kong is crowded, busy and chaotic to many, but for Fan Ho, he was able to convert [what he found] and find beauty."
He has also surved on the jury of the Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival and Hong Kong Oscar Film Award.
Filmography
All films directed by Ho Fan.Short films:
- Big City Little Man / 大都市 小人物 (1963, 30min, Hong Kong)
- Home Work / 習作之 (1966, 40min, Hong Kong)
Feature films:
- Lost / (1969, Dir, Hong Kong)
- 血愛 / Love And Blood (1972, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Wai Diy
- Adventure In Denmark (1973, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Wai Diy
- The Miserable Girl (1975, Dir, Hong Kong)
- The Girl With The Long Hair (1975, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Shaw Brothers
- Body For Sale (1976, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Lo Wei Motion Pictures
- 戇哥哥/Go A Little Crazy (1977, Dir, Hong Kong)
- Innocent Lust (1977, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Shaw Brothers
- Notorious Frameup (1978, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Shaw Brothers
- Hello Sexy Late Homecomers (1978, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Shaw Brothers
- Expensive Tastes (1982, Dir/Writer, Hong Kong)
- 台北吾愛/Two for the road, Taipei my love (1984, Dir/Writer, Taiwan) Prod. comp.
- Smile Again (1985, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Golden Harvest
- Yu Pui Tsuen (1986, Dir, Hong Kong)
- 心鎖/Desire (1987, Dir, Taiwan)
- Brief Encounter (1988, Dir, Hong Kong)
- Erotic Nights (1989, Dir/Writer, Hong Kong)
- Temptation Summary (1990, Dir, Hong Kong) Prod. comp. Sam Po Film Co
External links
- http://josephsaxton.com/photographer/ho-fan
- http://www.hkcinemagic.com/en/people.asp?id=2244
- http://www.studio-international.co.uk/photo/fan_ho.asp
- http://www.modernbook.com/fanho.htm*
- http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0387293/*