Hong Kong filmmaker Stanley Kwan was BOTD in 1957. Born in Hong Kong, he studied at Hong Kong Baptist College. His 1985 debut feature film 女人心 (Women), starring action star Chow Yun-fat, became a box office success. He became a central figure in Hong Kong New Wave cinema, directing a series of female-centred romantic dramas including 胭脂扣 (Rouge) starring Leslie Cheung, 人在紐約 (Full Moon in New York), 阮玲玉 (Centre Stage) and 紅玫瑰白玫瑰 (Red Rose White Rose), earning him comparisons with Hollywood director George Cukor. Kwan came out as gay in his 1996 documentary 男生女相：華語電影之性别 (Yang ± Yin: Gender in Chinese Cinema), making him one of Asian cinema’s few openly gay filmmakers. His 1998 romantic drama 愈快樂愈墮落 (Hold You Tight) offended Chinese censors with images of full-frontal male nudity, but won the Teddy Award for best LGBT film at that year’s Berlin Film Festival. His 2001 drama 藍宇 (Lan Yu), a gay love story set against the Tiananmen Square massacre, was also banned in China, though screened to successful reviews at the Sundance and Cannes Festivals. His most recent feature, 2018’s 八個女人一台戲 (First Night Nerves) is a backstage drama about a rivalry between two actresses performing a new play by a trans playwright. Kwan lives and works in Hong Kong; his current relationship status is unknown.