Rachel Zen

Rachel Zen

History

Rachel Zen was born in Shanghai in 1951 and studied journalism in Taiwan. She worked as a journalist for two years, going to the movies every Sunday and fostering an interest in film. She later moved to Hong Kong, first working at the news department of Rediffusion Television (RTV, now ATV), but her lack of fluency in Cantonese was an obstacle to her work in news. She thus applied to be a camerawoman in the photography department. The news editor at the time thought the camera crew was too dangerous for a woman and she was sparingly used, until editor/producer Clarence Chang Ching-po gave Zen a chance to prove herself as cameraperson. While still at RTV, Zen sent a letter that listed all the photography awards she won to TVB’s Chung King-fai, who invited her for an interview and hired her as assistant director. Her fellow ADs at the time included later New Wave stalwarts Patrick Tam Karming and Ann Hui as well as Kam Kwok-leung. After two years at the job and amid a shortage in staff at TVB, Zen was promoted to director after her short film on toys became hugely popular with children. She continued her career as a director at Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) for almost 20 years after she departed TVB. Influenced by the organization’s research-focused culture, Zen developed a penchant observing and analyzing humanity in her work. While at RTHK, she was involved with programs such as the When We Were Young series and Hong Kong Hong Kong. Zen ventured into filmmaking in the early 1980s, debuting with Cream, Soda and Milk (1982), a drama about social problems of children starring Eddy Chan and Deannie Yip and a key work in the influential New Wave. Her sophomore project, Love Bittersweet (1984) is a romantic comedy starring Sibelle Hu. Life Goes On (1989), a social drama based on a RTHK television series of the same title, was released to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the broadcast station. Zen had also lectured at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. In 2000, she shot the documentary program, Never Forget, for TVB. Since she did not have a background in documentary filmmaking, she did not confine herself to any expectation, allowing narratives to develop organically in pursuit of humanity. Zen believes that today’s viewers are interested in the pursuit of truth, thus she harbors much optimism for the documentary form. Returned to Hong Kong after immigrating overseas, Zen established a company that engaged in media writing and the production of dramas and documentaries. - http://www.hkfilmdirectors.com/en/director/zen-rachel

Profile

Rachel Zen

Movies

Life Goes On
Life Goes On
Director
The movie was originally a TV series exported by "9 Hong Kong Radio & TV Department". Its film version was used as a commemorative work for the 60th Anniversary of Radio 9 Hong Kong for a charity screening at the cinema. It describes the lives of firefighter Jiang Jiahe and his life before his death from cancer. Jiang's family is a dedicated firefighter. He loves his wife and family. Unfortunately, he contracted nasopharyngeal cancer. He was initially calm and under the careful treatment and care of the doctor and his wife, but his family was hit by a series of blows: his father was injured and fell to death; his younger brother’s career was frustrated; to solve family life, He was a part-time taxi driver who suffered from lung cancer because of overwork...
獅子山下 ‧ 煙火人間
獅子山下 ‧ 煙火人間
Director
Famous actress, Sharla Cheung, was first made known to the audiences prior to her fim debut with this story of Lee Nan (Sharla Cheung), who came to Hong Kong to be reunited with her husband, but later she depraved.
Love Bittersweet
Love Bittersweet
Director
"Love Maltose" tells that Long Ding and Shi Meizhu are good friends in the slums of Hong Kong . Grade school, Long Ding US beads or classmate classmates. There was never a shortage of begging for her boy around Meizhu, but she still likes to play with Long Ding. On the Mid-Autumn Festival when he was seven years old, Long Ding rushed to send his favorite stack of pagodas on the U.S. Pearl. As a result, Shi Meizhu moved away and left Long Ding with a delicate bead cage. Ten years later, Long Ding failed to go to college. During the day, his father's Long Kei helped to teach at night and he taught at an evening school. Although the family was very nervous, they were very happy. One day, Long Ding seized a girl who stole the book during the study.....
Born To Live
Born To Live
Director
Seventeen year-old orphan Chan Ka-Po, afflicted with severe facial swellings, acutely mis-matched ears and with his left eye, is called "Elephant Man" by others. Twenty-five year-old Lee Kut-Chang has the mind of an adult, but only the body of an infant, earned him the nickname of "Glass Bones Man".
Ah Ying
Ah Ying
Chronicles the growth of a young woman as she dabbles in Hong Kong’s independent film scene. Based in part on Hui’s real-life experiences.
Cream Soda & Milk
Cream Soda & Milk
Director
Ling's parents has been separated when she was small, however, she always miss her brother, Ding. Ling's boyfriend is a social worker. One day, he sees a youngster who looks like Ling's brother and loves drinking cream soda and milk. Nevertheless, Ding doesn't want to meet his sister..