Josephine Koo Mei-Wah is a Chinese

Cinema of China

The Chinese-language cinema has three distinct historical threads: Cinema of Hong Kong, Cinema of China, and Cinema of Taiwan. Since 1949 the cinema of mainland China has operated under restrictions imposed by the Communist Party of China's State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television and...

 actress. She had a bright start to her film career, starring in Yim Ho

Yim Ho

Yim Ho is one of the most famous Hong Kong directors of the 1980s, and a leader of Hong Kong New Wave.He began his career in television production making television programs for RTHK, then became a film director in 1980....

's Hong Kong New Wave

Hong Kong New Wave

The Hong Kong New Wave was a blanket term applied to a number of young, groundbreaking Hong Kong filmmakers of the late 1970s and 1980s, many trained in overseas film programs and with experience in the territory's thriving television drama scene...

 classic Homecoming

Homecoming (1984 film)

Homecoming is a 1984 Hong Kong film directed by Yim Ho. It won the Best Film Award at the 4th Hong Kong Film Awards.-Awards and nominations:4th Hong Kong Film Awards* Won: Best Film* Won: Best Director - Yim Ho...

(1984). The film won her the Best New Performer Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards

Hong Kong Film Awards

The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,...

 in 1985, and also a nomination for Best Actress, but she was beaten by Siqin Gaowa

Siqin Gaowa

Sechen Guwa is a Chinese-Swiss actress of Mongol ethnicity. Her name "Сэцэн Гуа" means in Mongolian: The Wise Beautiful.She first came into prominence in the 1982 film adaptation of Lao She's novel, Rickshaw Boy, where she played "Tigress" opposite Zhang Fengyi's Xiangzi...

 from the same film.

After Homecoming, Koo appeared in Yim Ho's Red Dust (1990), Stanley Kwan

Stanley Kwan

Stanley Kwan is a Hong Kong Second Wave film director and producer.Kwan landed a job at the TVB after receiving a mass communications degree at Hong Kong Baptist College...

's Full Moon in New York (1990) and Evans Chan

Evans Chan

Evans Chan is a Hong Kong Second Wave film director. His work usually focuses on exploring identities of Hong Kong people, such as To Liv , Crossings and The Map of Sex and Love ....

's To Live(e) (1992).

She disappeared from the screen in the late 1990s but suddenly returned in Peng Xiaolian's Shanghai Story

Shanghai Story

Shanghai Story is a 2004 Chinese film directed by Peng Xiaolian. A family drama, the film was the surprise winner of the 19th Golden Rooster Awards in China, where it won best picture over the heavily favored House of Flying Daggers. The film's win was also surprising given the story, which...

(2004). For her role in this film, Koo was awarded the Best Actress Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival

Shanghai International Film Festival

The Shanghai International Film Festival , abbreviated SIFF, is one of the largest film festivals in East Asia.Along with Tokyo International Film Festival, the SIFF is one of the biggest film festivals in Asia. The first festival was held from October 7 to 14, 1993, and was held biennially until...

, beating out Zhang Ziyi

Zhang Ziyi

Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...

 and Joey Wong

Joey Wong

Joey Wong is a Hong Kong based Taiwanese-born actress.-Biography:Wong was born on January 31, 1967 and raised in Taipei and also received a secondary school education there. She was enrolled in the drama course of Kuo Kwan Arts School...

.

External links

• HK cinemagic entry