Jun Li (director)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Filmmaker
- Playwright
- Film critic
Jun Li | |
|---|---|
 Li in February 2025 | |
| Born | August 3, 1991 London, United Kingdom |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
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| Awards | Golden Horse Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (2021)
Golden Horse Award for Best Director (2025) Hong Kong Drama Award for Best Script (2026) |
Jun Li (Chinese: 李駿碩; born 3 August 1991[1]) is a Hong Kong filmmaker and critic. Li made his feature film debut with Tracey in 2018. He won the Golden Horse Award for Best Adapted Screenplay at the 58th Golden Horse Awards in November 2021 for his second film Drifting.[2] In November 2025, he won the Golden Horse Award for Best Director for his third film Queerpanorama.[3] He is also a member of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.[4]
Li was born in London and grew up in Hong Kong.[5] Li originally studied architecture at the University of Hong Kong but later dropped out.[1] He then studied journalism and communications at Chinese University of Hong Kong. He worked as a television reporter. He later quit to obtain his Master of Philosophy in gender studies at the University of Cambridge.[5][6] He then moved back to Hong Kong and worked at the University of Hong Kong as a research assistant.[7]
Career
Li began making short films as a research assistant at the University of Hong Kong.[7] He and his short film Liu Yang He (2017) won the Fresh Wave Award and Best Director at the 11th Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival.[5][8]
Li made his feature film debut with Tracey in 2018 about a married trans woman transitioning in her 50s. Li was brought on later in pre-production, after another director quit the project and actors Philip Keung and River Huang have been cast.[7] He was nominated at the 38th Hong Kong Film Awards for Best Screenplay (alongside Shu Kei and Erica Li) and Best New Director.[9] Li has not received a Hong Kong government subsidy (such as the First Feature Film Initiative) for all his directorial feature productions. He cited the lack of perceived commercial viability of LGBT films as a barrier to winning such initiatives.[5]
His second film Drifting (2021) is about homelessness and addiction in Sham Shui Po, Kowloon. It competed at the International Film Festival Rotterdam Big Screen Competition.[10] The film was nominated for 12 awards at the 58th Golden Horse Awards, making it the most nominated film from that year. He was himself nominated Best Director, Best Film Editing and Best Adapted Screenplay, winning the latter.[11]
Li's film Queerpanorama (2025) features a gay protagonist and is shot in black and white.[2] He won Best Director at the 62nd Golden Horse Awards.[3] The film was also nominated for a Golden Horse Award for Best Narrative Feature. According to the judging panel, A Foggy Tale narrowly beat Queerpanorama in an 8–7 vote.[12]
He openly criticised Israel for its war crimes in Gaza during his film premiere at the 2025 Berlinale.[13] The incident was widely cited as an example of German censorship against pro-palestinian speech in the next edition.[14]
Style and influences
Li cites Ken Loach, Spike Lee, Stanley Kwan[5], Hong Sang Soo, and Lou Ye as his influences.[15]
Personal life
Filmography
Directing, Writing, Editing, Producing
| Year | Title | Director | Screenwriter | Editor | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Liu Yang He | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Short film[6] |
| 2018 | My World | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Short film |
| Tracey | Yes | Yes | No | No | ||
| 2021 | Drifting | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | |
| Plain Sailing | No | No | No | Yes | Short film | |
| 2024 | Fly Me to the Moon | No | No | No | Yes | |
| 2025 | Queerpanorama | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Selected in Panorama section of the Berlinale.[17] |
Acting
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | I Miss You When I See You | Kevin | [16] |