Danny Cheng Wan-Cheung (; born 20 March 1967), known professionally as Scud, is a China-born Hong Kong filmmaker. He says that he chose the name "Scud" to match his Chinese name, which translates in English as "Scudding Clouds". His films explore taboo themes within Hong Kong cinema, including same-sex relationships and drug-taking. His filmmaking style eschews cynicism or gritty realism, and embraces an acceptance of the life choices made by his characters, rather than a search for "solutions". Scud has cited Pier Paolo Pasolini, Yukio Mishima, Pedro Almodovar and Peter Greenaway as directors who have influenced his work.
Life and career Scud was raised by his grandmother in China before he moved to Hong Kong at the age of 13. After a 20-year career in IT, he founded a publicly listed company and acquired a bachelor's degree through part-time study at the Open University of Hong Kong. He moved to Australia in 2001 for permanent residence.
In 2005, he returned to Hong Kong to start a film production company, Artwalker. He wrote and produced City Without Baseball (2008), then became a film director with Permanent Residence (2009), which he said was a semi-autobiographical account of his own life, with many scenes and locations providing a faithful account of it. This was followed by Amphetamine (2010). Scud released his fourth film, Love Actually... Sucks!, in 2011, while his fifth, Voyage (2013), was the first of his stories to be filmed almost entirely in English. He released a sixth film entitled Utopians in 2015, as well as a seventh, Thirty Years of Adonis, in 2017.
In May 2022, Scud told Variety that he planned to retire from filmmaking and leave Hong Kong (due to the worsening market for independent films and censorship) after finishing four films: Apostles, Bodyshop, Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe and Ghosts Just Wanna Have Fun.
Filmography Film name(English) Film name(Chinese) Year released City Without Baseball 無野之城 2008 Permanent Residence 永久居留 2009 Amphetamine 安非他命 2010 Love Actually... Sucks! 愛很爛 2011 Voyage 遊 2013 Utopians 同流合烏 2015 Thirty Years of Adonis 三十儿立 2017 Apostles 十三門徒 2022 Bodyshop 屍房菜 2023 Naked Nations: Hong Kong Tribe 裸族之香港部落 2024 Ghosts Just Wanna Have Fun 幹鬼屁事 2024
Awards City Without Baseball 2008 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards – Film of Merit Award 2008 Hong Kong Film Critics Society Awards – Winner in Top 7 Suggested Films 2008 Taiwan Film Critics Society Awards – Winner in Top 10 Best Chinese Films
Permanent Residence 10th Chinese Film Media Awards – Best New Actor 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival – Official Selection 20th Hong Kong Gay and Lesbian Film Festival – Official Selection (Director's Cut) 10th Taipei Film Festival – Special Reserved Screening (Director's Cut) 25th Torino GLBT Film Festival – Official Selection
Amphetamine 2010 Teddy Award Nomination at the Berlin International Film Festival of 2010. 24th Teddy Award – Runner Up 34th Hong Kong International Film Festival – Closing Film 25th Torino GLBT Film Festival – Competition 46th Chicago International Film Festival – Official Selection 12th Rio International Film Festival – Official Selection 30th Hawaii International Film Festival – Official Selection 30th Hong Kong Film Awards – Best New Actor Nomination
Love Actually... Sucks! 47th Chicago International Film Festival – Official Selection Philadelphia Q-Fest 2011 – Official Selection
Voyage 49th Chicago International Film Festival – Official Selection 1st Q Hugo Award 37th São Paulo International Film Festival – Official Selection Kyoto International Film and Art Festival 2015 – Special Invitation
Utopians 2nd New Director Film Festival – Official Selection & Best Foreign Film Director 27th Palm Springs International Film Festival – Official Selection 13th Outfest Fusion LGBT People of Color Film Festival – Official Selection 31st Torino Gay & Lesbian Film Festival – Official Selection 27th Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival – Official Selection 52nd Chicago International Film Festival – Official Selection 6th Fringe! Queer Film& Arts fest – Official Selection
See also Cinema of Hong Kong
References
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