Hsiao Ya-chuan

Born in 1967, Hsiao attended what later became Taipei National University of the Arts.^[1] Commenting on his upbringing in 2018, Hsiao stated, "My father’s frugality created a sense of insecurity in me, as if the family could run out of money anytime. There was a feeling of poverty, where we never had enough to do the same things other people could."^[2] He began working closely with Hou Hsiao-hsien,^[3] and served as assistant director on Hou's Flowers of Shanghai (1998).^[2][4] Hou has produced several of Hsiao's films, including Mirror Image [zh] (2001), Taipei Exchanges (2010), Father to Son (2018), and Old Fox (2023).^[2][5]

Hsiao first feature film, Mirror Image, won the Best Film Award at the 2001 Taipei Film Festival and another prize at the Fukuoka Film Festival.^[4][6] It was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival in May.^[7] The next year, Mirror Image was shown as the opening feature at the Taipei Film House.^[8] Hsiao worked for a time directing television commercials,^[2][9] before releasing Taipei Exchanges in 2010. The production, commissioned by the Taipei City Government,^[10] was shown at the Taipei Film Festival.^[11] In 2012, Hsiao directed Something’s Gotta Give, a segment of the anthology film 10+10 [zh],^[12] which screened at the Berlin International Film Festival and Stockholm International Film Festival. Hsiao's third feature film Father to Son was nominated for a 2018 VPRO Big Screen Award.^[2][13] It premiered at the 2018 International Film Festival Rotterdam.^[14] For his 2023 film Old Fox, Hsiao won Best Director at the 60th Golden Horse Awards.^[15]

He has two children.^[2]