Benny Chan (filmmaker)

Born and raised in Kowloon, Benny Chan first accepted a job in 1981 at Rediffusion Television working in continuity.[6] The following year, he joined TVB, becoming a production assistant to Johnnie To.[7][8] By 1985, Chan had worked his way up to being a television director, co-directing television series like The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain (1985).[8] In addition to directing most of the episodes of The Flying Fox of Snowy Mountain, he also wrote the scripts for all 40 episodes.[9] Chan had gained experience as an executive director for a couple of films between 1987 and 1988, and had also directed and produced a few television series for Asia Television in 1989.[6]

Chan's debut as a film director began with A Moment of Romance (1990), which was produced by To.[6][10] During the 1990s, he directed films like Big Bullet (1996), Who Am I? (1998), and Gen-X Cops (1999). For his work on Big Bullet, which he co-wrote, directed, and produced,[11] Chan was nominated for Best Director at the 1997 Hong Kong Film Awards.[6] The film also won awards for Best Film Editing at both the Hong Kong Film Awards and the 1996 Golden Horse Film Festival.[7][12] He also continued to work in television, directing episodes of the 1995 adaptation of Fist of Fury starring Donnie Yen.[7][6]

Working in exclusively the film industry since 1998's Who Am I?,[6] Chan continued to work on various projects. Since Who Am I?, he continued to direct more of Jackie Chan's movies, such as New Police Story (2004), Rob-B-Hood (2006), and Shaolin (2011).[7] He also directed Heroic Duo (2003), Divergence (2005), Connected (2008), and The White Storm (2013).[6][8] Prior to his death, Chan was working on Raging Fire, which he gave to a colleague to complete post-production work after his cancer diagnosis.[11]

In 2019, Chan was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer after feeling unwell while working on Raging Fire.[11][8] During the last few months of his life, he was hospitalized at Prince of Wales Hospital.[6]

On 23 August 2020, Chan died at the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.[13]

• Benny Chan at IMDb 
• HK Cinemagic entry