Joe Ma (filmmaker)
Joe Ma Wai-ho | |||||||||
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| Born | 21 February 1964 Hong Kong | ||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 馬偉豪 | ||||||||
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Joseph Ma Wai-ho is a Hong Kong film director, scriptwriter and producer. Among the films he has directed, Feel 100% (1996), The Lion Roars (2002) and Love Undercover (2002) were popular films at the Hong Kong box office. Love Undercover won the Audience Award at the 2002 Far East Film Festival. In 1997, Ma founded the film company Brilliant Idea Group Limited (BIG). Its first film, Full Alert (1997), received five nominations at the 17th Hong Kong Film Awards.
Ma career in film started before completing secondary school, where he wrote a play that would later be adapted into the film Happy Ghost (1984). Ma first worked as a writer and made his debut as a film director with Rich Man (1992). As a writer, he primarily made romantic comedy films. By 2007, he had written all films he has directed and also wrote films for other directors such as Daniel Lee's Black Mask (1996) and Ringo Lam's Victim (1999).
Biography
Joe Ma was born on February 21, 1964.[1] He was a writer during his tenure of Secondary 6 level in secondary school in Hong Kong.[2][2] He wrote a play that would later be adapted into Happy Ghost (1984).[2][3] Ma graduated in 1987 from the University of Hong Kong with a major in Contemporary Chinese History.[2]
Ma first worked as a writer and made his debut as a film director with Rich Man (1992) as well as writing Over the Rainbow, Under the Skirt (1994). The 1994 film was drawn from Ma's own memories of growing up. Feel 100% (1996) starring Ekin Cheng and Gigi Lai was a box office success in Hong Kong.[2]
In 1997, Ma founded the film company Brilliant Idea Group Limited (BIG).[4][5] Its first film was Ringo Lam's Full Alert (1997) which received five nominations at the 17th Hong Kong Film Awards.[4] As a producer, Ma worked with several new directors such as Wilson Yip with Bullets Over Summer (1999), Alan Mak's A War Named Desire (2001) and Cheang Pou-soi's Love Battlefield (2004).[6]
Ma directed two other films popular in the Hong Kong box office in the early 2000s with The Lion Roars (2002) and Love Undercover (2002).[4]
Style
Ma specializes in romantic comedy films and stories about youth romance.[4] By 2007, Ma had written all of the 23 films he directed.[7] Outside his own films, Ma would write for other directors, such as Daniel Lee's Black Mask (1996), Benny Chan's Big Bullet (1996), and Ringo Lam's Victim (1999).[4]
Reception
Love Undercover won the Audience Award at the 2002 Far East Film Festival in Undine, Italy.[7]
Filmography as director
| Year | Title | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Rich Man | |
| 1994 | Over the Rainbow, Under the Skirt | |
| 1995 | The Golden Girls | |
| 1996 | Till Death Do Us Laugh | |
| Feel 100% | ||
| Feel 100%... Once More | ||
| 1997 | He Comes from Planet K | |
| First Love Unlimited | ||
| Lawyer Lawyer | ||
| 1999 | Afraid of Nothing: The Jobless King | |
| 2001 | Feel 100% II | |
| Fighting for Love | ||
| Funeral March | ||
| Dummy Mommy, Without a Baby | ||
| 2002 | The Lion Roars | |
| Love Undercover | ||
| Summer Breeze of Love | ||
| 2003 | Next Station... Tin Hau | |
| Feel 100% 2003 | ||
| Love Undercover 2: Love Mission | ||
| Sound of Colors | ||
| 2004 | Three of a Kind | |
| Hidden Heroes | ||
| 2005 | Embrace Your Shadow | |
| 2006 | Love Undercover 3 | |
| 2008 | Sasori | |
| 2010 | My Sassy Girl 2 | |
| 2011 | Stand by Me | |
| 2012 | The Lion Roars 2 | |
| 2016 | Days of Our Own | |
| 2017 | On Fallen Wings | [8] |
References
- ↑ U2MTV.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Stokes 2007, p. 305.
- ↑ Wood 1998, p. 93.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Stokes 2007, p. 306.
- ↑ Sullivan 1997.
- ↑ Stokes 2007, pp. 306–307.
- 1 2 Stokes 2007, p. 307.
- ↑ Ma 2014.
Sources
- "演員介紹馬偉豪" [Actor introduction Ma Weihao] (in Chinese). U2MTV.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- Ma, Kevin (14 May 2014). "Mei Ah takes four to Cannes". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
- Stokes, Lisa Odham (2007). Historical Dictionary of Hong Kong Cinema. United States: The Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5520-5.
- Wood, Miles (July 1998). Cine East: Hong Kong Cinema Through the Looking Glass. Guildford, England, United Kingdom: FAB Press. ISBN 0-9529260-2-4.
- Sullivan, Maureen (June 12, 1997). "Hong Kong Vid Distrib Mi Ah Bows Film Arm". Variety. Archived from the original on April 9, 2026. Retrieved April 9, 2026.
External links