- Chinese Name: 鍾孟宏
- Born: 1965
- Birthplace: Pingtung County (Southern Taiwan)
- Did You Know That…?
- The director's 2008 feature film "Parking (停車)” was inspired by his own experience in 1994, when a car double-parked next to his and subsequently led to a series of strange events that night.
Chung Mong-hong is a film director, cinematographer, and screenwriter whose works encompass feature films, music videos, advertisements, and documentaries. He was named Best Director by the Golden Horse Awards for "The Fourth Portrait (第四張畫)” in 2010.
Ever since high school, Chung held a deep interest in films, especially those by directors of the Taiwan New Wave Cinema movement and the late Japanese director Nagisa Oshima (大島渚). After finishing university in Taiwan, Chung attended the School of the Art Institute of Chicago to study film in 1991.
Although Chung began to work in the advertising industry after returning to Taiwan, he continued to make films, of which the short documentary "Festival (慶典)” won the Golden Harvest Award for Outstanding Short. In 2002, he established his own film production company to focus on filmmaking.
In 2006, Chung produced his first full-length documentary titled "Doctor (醫生),” which tells the story of a doctor who lost his son, and his journey of healing through grief while curing a child with cancer at the hospital. The film exploring life, death, and hope won the first prize in the 8th Taipei Film Festival for the documentary category.
In 2008, Chung released "Parking (停車),” a feature that he wrote and directed, noting that the film was crafted to present unnoticed stories that take place on a daily basis and to create dialogue between the film and its audience members. The feature has received critical acclaim and won the 2008 FIPRESCI Critics Award.
His following production, "The Fourth Portrait,” centers on an orphaned boy who finds comfort in drawing as family secrets are gradually revealed. The 2010 film won the Golden Horse Awards for Best Director and Outstanding Taiwanese Film of the Year, demonstrating once again Chung's ability in making feature films.
Chung's first psychological horror film, "Soul (失魂),” was released in 2013. Revolving around the story of a man who has seemingly lost his mind, the film explores the idea of a society - or even a government - losing control. The film has received numerous awards as well, including four from the Taipei Film Festival.
As a filmmaker, Chung insists on making films that follow his ideas and aesthetics instead of manufacturing commercial-oriented productions. For him, films deliver a message, and he hopes that his films will provoke audiences to re-think their lives and see things from a different perspective.