Derek Tsang

Director Derek Tsang made history when his 2019 film Better Days became the first from Hong Kong to bag a Best International Feature Film Oscar nomination in 28 years, only the third ever to do so and the first by a locally born filmmaker. The son of Hong Kong comedian, actor and director Eric Tsang, Derek has been in the film industry for nearly two decades, starting as an actor specialising in villainous roles.

He made his solo directorial debut in 2016 with the acclaimed romantic drama Soul Mate, but really hit the big time with Better Days, a teenage romantic mystery crime thriller starring Jackson Yee and Zhou Dongyu that deals in unpredictable ways with the delicate subject of bullying. Adapted from Jiu Yuexi’s young adult novel In His Youth, In Her Beauty, it grossed US$230 million in mainland China and has been showered with awards, for example sweeping the board with eight gongs at the 39th Hong Kong Film Awards.