Biography

Peggy Chiao Hsiung-ping is a film juror, critic, author, educator, and producer. She is known internationally as the "Godmother of New Taiwan Cinema".

A tireless advocate of 'new cinemas' in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and mainland China, she is one of the main reasons that Hou Hsiao-hsien, Edward Yang, Ang Lee, Wang Xiaoshuai, Tsai Ming Liang, and many other directors have been introduced to the world.

She has served as juror for many international film festivals including San Francisco, Seattle, Vancouver, Berlin, Brisbane, Sydney, Rome, Venice, San Sebastián, Sao Paolo, Buenos Aires, Mannheim-Heidelberg, Oberhausen, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Jeonju, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, New Delhi, and many Chinese film festivals.

As a film critic and author, she has written for major Taiwanese newspapers. She also keeps regular columns in China for film magazines and newspapers. Many of her essays have been translated and included in various anthologies. She has published over 70 books including New Taiwan Cinema (1987), Hong Kong New Wave (1987) and Aspects of New Asian Films (1991), The auteurs of Taiwan and Hong Kong Films (1995), New New Wave of Taiwan Cinema 90's (2002), French New Wave (2004), and etc.

As an educator, she was the director of the Graduate School of Filmmaking at the Taipei National University of the Arts and have been a professor there since 1985.

She established the China Times Express Award in 1990. She was the CEO of National Taiwan Film Year consigned by the government in 1993, for which she programmed 13 retrospectives of Taiwan films abroad and various projects to consolidate film industry and culture. This includes producing 6 shorts with youngsters who later became famous directors such as Chen Yu-hsun, Hsiao Ya-chuan, and Lin Cheng-sheng.

She founded the Taiwan Film Centre in 1994 to help develop an international network for local filmmakers, organizing Taiwan Retrospectives at Pesaro, Toronto, New York's Lincoln Centre, Chicago's Art Centre, and etc.

In 1997, she established Arc Light Films, a production company with pan-Chinese ambitions which has produced films with directors like Ann Hui, Stanley Kwan, Wang Xiaoshuai, Olivia Assayas, Yi Chih-yen, Kenny Bi, etc.

As chair of the prestigious Golden Horse Film Festival in 2007, she reformed the jury system, brought in FIPRESCI and NETPAC and established co-production meetings; practically shaping Golden Horse into the world-renown film festival as it is today.

Her producing credits include award-winning films such as Wang Xiaoshuai's Beijing Bicycle (Berlin, Silver Bear), Lin Chen-sheng's Betelnut Beauty (Berlin, Silver Bear), Yee Chih-yen's Blue Gate Crossing (Cannes, Directors Fortnight), Tsai Ming-liang's The Hole (Cannes, FIPRESCI Award), Wang Xiaoshuai's Drifters (Best Actor, Cinefan, New Delhi), Liu Fen Dou's Green Hat (Best Narrative Feature, Tribeca), Christine Yao's Empire of Silver (Best Film, Hawaii), Cheng Fen Fen's Hear Me (Best Actress, Taipei Film Award), Li Yu's Lost in Beijing, and Buddha Mountain (Best Actress, Tokyo), Sherwood Hu's Lord of Shanghai as well as Chang Yi's A Dog's Life.
- IMDb mini biography by: Colin Huang