Lam, Oi-wah Aubrey (林愛華)

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Lam, Oi-wah Aubrey – Critical Biography Top

Aubrey Lam majored in history and political science at university before pursuing film studies abroad in the United States. When she returned to Hong Kong, she took a course offered by an industry union and, through it, made her way into the United Filmmakers Organization (UFO) as a screenwriter. Her work on a number of UFO productions (Heaven Can Wait [1995], Those Were the Days [1996]) impressed director Peter Chan, and she quickly became a trusted collaborator whose working relationship with Chan has continued into the present. The pair first worked together on such films as The Age of Miracles (1996) and Who’s the Woman, Who’s the Man (1996). Later collaborations include such works as Perhaps Love (2005), The Warlords (2007), Wu Xia (2011), and American Dreams in China (2013). Lam also worked on the scripts of such Peter Chan productions as Golden Chicken 2 (2003, d. Samson Chiu) and The Guillotines (2012, d. Andrew Lau).

In 2000, Lam made her debut as a writer-director with Twelve Nights (2000). Lam was inspired by Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage (1973) to make a film that looked at the coming together and falling apart of a couple over the course of twelve consecutive nights. Lam was praised for the sensitivity of her direction and the honesty of her script. She followed Twelve Nights with another effort as writer-director: Hidden Track (2003), an amusing film structured around a young girl’s search for a limited-edition Jay Chou CD that leads her through a series of encounters with various eccentric characters. This time, the inspiration for Lam’s script was Italo Calvino’s 1979 novel, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler. While Lam has stated that her original conception was a much darker film than what was ultimately approved by the movie’s producer, Hidden Track was nevertheless a refreshing work that has attracted somewhat of a cult following.

As writer-director, Lam has also made Anna and Anna (2007), an ambitious effort in which Karena Lam plays two versions of the same character: a woman who chooses in one version to marry her current boyfriend, and to quit the relationship and set off on her own independent career in the other. Years after the decision, the doubles meet and even trade places in Lam’s imaginative vision. Lam’s most recent work as a writer-director is a Hong Kong/China co-production set in mainland China. Starring Bai Baihe and Ronald Cheng, The Truth About Beauty (2014) is a drama-comedy about the consequences and implications of a life-changing decision to undergo cosmetic surgery.

Filmography Top

Feature Films:

Role	Title (English)	Title (Chinese)	Year
Director	Love without Distance	土豪520	2015
Director	The Truth about Beauty (Trailer)	整容日記	2014
Writer	American Dreams in China (Trailer)	中國合伙人	2013
Writer	The Guillotines (Trailer)	血滴子	2012
Writer	Wu Xia (Dragon) (Trailer)	武俠	2011
Director Writer	Anna & Anna (Trailer)	安娜與安娜	2007
Writer	The Warlords (Trailer)	投名狀	2007
Writer	Men Suddenly in Black 2 (Trailer)	大丈夫2	2006
Writer	Perhaps Love (Trailer)	如果愛	2005
Writer	Love Trilogy (Trailer)	30分鐘戀愛	2004
Director Writer	Hidden Track	尋找周杰倫	2003
Writer	Golden Chicken 2	金雞2	2003
Writer	Fighting for Love	同居蜜友	2001
Director Writer	Twelve Nights	十二夜	2000
Writer	Purple Storm	紫雨風暴	1999
Writer	Yesterday You, Yesterday Me	記得…香蕉成熟時3為妳鍾情	1997
Writer	The Wedding Days	完全結婚手冊	1997
Writer	Those Were the Days	四個32A和一個香蕉少年	1996
Writer	The Age of Miracles	麻麻帆帆	1996
Writer	Who’s the Woman, Who’s the Man	金枝玉葉2	1996
Writer	Whenever Will Be, Will Be	仙樂飄飄	1995
Writer	Heaven Can’t Wait	救世神棍	1995