Lou Yi-an () is a Taiwanese writer and director devoted to both the cinema and television industry. He is known for his dark humor, character-driven intricate story lines. He often portrays the working class and the migrants in a context of social and racial discrimination.
He got noticed in 2006 when he won the Best Director in a Miniseries award from the 41st Golden Bell Awards in 2006. Later in 2007 he won, together with Singing Chen the Best Original Screenplay award at the 44th Golden Horse Awards. Several of Lou's films also include Chen's work, such as the short Waterfront Villa Bonita (2007), Bundled (2000), God Man Dog (2007) and Lou's first long-feature as a director A Place of One's Own (2009) that focused on poor people living in New Taipei City.
In 2010, he wrote A Gloomy Salad Day, a TV series that examined adolescence.
In 2013, Lou was commissioned by the Hakka Television Service to make The Losers. Lou drew inspiration for the project from the Hakka band Labor Exchange, specifically the album Night March of the Chrysanthemums. The film touched on Taiwanese culture, social and racial issues caused by class and age gaps. It portrayed rural life in Meinong, Kaohsiung. Due to The Losers heavy subject matter, Lou was advised not to theatrically release it. As a result, the film was shown for one week only at the Spot Huashan Cinema in Taipei. In April 2016, Lou traveled to London to attend a screening of The Losers at SOAS, University of London.
In 2015, he directed and co-wrote White Lies, Black Lies. Different from his previous works, it focused on the psychological aftermath of murders committed in 1960s Wanhua District of Taipei. It is Lou Yi-an's first successfully commercial big screen movie.
In 2018, he then returned to television with the TV series Roseki, which is also well appraised by the public and confirmed his renown in Taiwan. Roseki is a 14-episode drama that relates the life of the famous Taipei writer and singer Lu Ho-juo during the Japanese colonization, alternating between the singer's stage life and personal life. The show was premiered on Hakka TV.
In 2021 he worked as a director and screenwriter on the TV series Heaven on the 4th Floor, as well as Goddamned Asura, for which he earned a Best Screenplay award at the Taipei Film Festival and a Best Original Screenplay nomination at the Taiwanese Golden Horse Film Festival.
Filmography
Film +YearTitleDirectorWriter2000Bundled (我叫阿銘啦)(Assistant-director)No2007God Man Dog (流浪神狗人)NoYes (Co-writer)2009A Place of One's Own（一席之地YesYes2013The Losers (廢物)YesYes2016White Lies, Black Lies (失控謊言)YesYes (Co-writer)2022Goddamned AsuraYesYes (Co-writer)
Television +YearTitleDirectorWriter2005快樂的出航 (no English title)YesYes2010A Gloomy Salad Day (死神少女)NoYes2013月光森林 (no English title)Yes(Co-writer)2018Roseki (臺北歌手)Yes(Co-writer)2021Heaven on the 4th Floor (四樓的天堂)NoYes
Short film +YearTitleDirectorWriter2002花願 (no English title)YesNo2007Waterfront Villa Bonita (水岸麗景)YesYes2012When Yesterday Comes (昨日的記憶), segment "The Clock" (阿霞的掛鐘)No(Co-writer)
Awards and nominations +YearFestivalAwardStatusFor2022Taipei Film FestivalBest ScreenplayWonGoddamned Asura2022Taipei Film FestivalBest EditingNominatedGoddamned Asura2021Golden HorseBest Original ScreenplayNominatedGoddamned Asura2018Golden BellBest Writing for a Television SeriesWonRoseki2018Golden BellCreative Program AwardWonRoseki2018Golden BellBest Directing for a Television SeriesNominatedRoseki2018Asian Academy Creative AwardsBest Original ScreenplayNominatedRoseki2018Asian Academy Creative AwardsBest Direction (Fiction)NominatedRoseki2016Chinese Young Generation Film ForumJury AwardWonWhite Lies, Black Lies2014Fukuoka Asian Film FestivalGrand PrixWonThe Losers2016Taipei Film FestivalBest ScreenplayNominatedWhite Lies, Black Lies2009Taipei Film FestivalAudience AwardWonA Place of One's Own2009Taipei Film FestivalGrand PrixNominatedA Place of One's Own2009Bratislava International Film FestivalGrand PrixNominatedA Place of One's Own2008Durban International Film FestivalBest ScreenplayWonGod Man Dog2007Golden HorseBest Original ScreenplayNominatedGod Man Dog2006Golden BellMiniseries Writer AwardWon快樂的出航 (no English title)
References
External links