Film director and screenwriter Wong Kar-wai was born in Shanghai, China on July 17, 1958. He moved to Hong Kong at the age of five. After graduating from university, he gained experience on television and elsewhere before making his film debut as a screenwriter. His first film, "I Want to Hold Your Hand" (1988), was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. His follow-up, "Wings of Desire" (1990), was praised for its use of slow motion and handheld camerawork and won various awards. Despite being produced in a short space of time, "Chungking Express" (1994) became a worldwide hit, making Kar-wai and stars Tony Leung and Takeshi Kaneshiro famous. His film "Buenos Aires," shot in Argentina, featured no script and improvised acting, winning the Best Director award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and solidifying his status as a leading director.

Since then, his films, including the César Award-winning "In the Mood for Love," the much-talked-about "2046" starring Kimura Takuya, and "My Blueberry Nights," the first English-language film starring Norah Jones, have all premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and in 2006 he served as president of the festival's jury.

His latest film, "The Grandmaster," currently in theaters, brings together Asian film stars including Tony Leung and Zhang Ziyi, with whom he has collaborated many times. The film was screened as the opening film of the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival in February.