Johnny Ma

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Johnny Ma
The Artistic Director Cameron Bailey along with the Cast and crew of the ‘Old Stone’, at the ‘Country of Focus Canada’ Press Conference, during the 48th International Film Festival of India (IFFI-2017), in Panaji, Goa.jpg
Johnny Ma, IFFI (2017)
Born
Ma Nan

Shanghai, China
NationalityCanadian
EducationColumbia University
Occupation(s)Director, screenwriter
Years active2000s–present
Notable workA Grand Canal, Old Stone, To Live to Sing

Johnny Ma (born Ma Nan, 马楠 in Shanghai)[1] is a Chinese-Canadian film director and screenwriter.[2] He is best known for his debut feature film Old Stone, which premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2016. The film won the awards for Best Canadian First Feature Film at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival,[3] and Best First Feature at the 5th Canadian Screen Awards in 2017.[4] His second feature To Live To Sing premiered at the Director's Fortnight Section of the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.

Early life[edit]

Ma moved from Shanghai to Toronto, Ontario with his family when he was 10 years of age.[5] He attended the University of British Columbia,[2] studying commerce at the behest of his parents,[2] and after working in Shanghai and Wenzhou,[1] decided to pursue a degree in film at Columbia University in New York City[5] in 2010.

Career[edit]

Ma made a number of short films before breaking through to wider success with A Grand Canal in 2013.[2] That film, which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, was named to TIFF's Canada's Top Ten list as one of the ten best Canadian short films of the year,[6] and was a Canadian Screen Award nominee for Best Live Action Short Drama at the 2nd Canadian Screen Awards.[5]

Ma's planned first feature film was Ten Thousand Happiness, for which he won the Beijing International Screenwriting Competition in 2013 and Telefilm Canada's Pitch This! competition in 2014.[2] After difficulty securing financing, he put it on hold and proceeded with Old Stone, a script he was developing as his potential second film.[2]

At the 5th Canadian Screen Awards, Old Stone was also a nominee for Best Picture; Ma was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay.[2]

To Live to Sing was completed in 2019 and premiered at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival Director's Fortnight. It went on to win both Best Film and Best Actress at the 2019 Shanghai International Film Festival.[7]

Filmography[edit]

Year Film Director Producer Writer Actor Cinematographer Awards and Nominations Format
2009 Shanghai Connection Yes Short
2010 The Robbery Yes Yes Yes Won - Dallas International Film Festival Grand Jury Price in Student Competition (2011) Short
2011 The Genius from Quintino Yes Yes Yes Short
2011 Play Yes Yes Yes Short
2012 Dec 32 Yes Won - Toronto International Film Festival RBC Emerging Filmmaker Award - Honorable Mention (2012) Short
2013 Mineirinho do Riacho Yes Yes Short
2013 A Grand Canal Yes Yes Yes Won - CAAMFest Student Film Award (2014)

Won - Columbia University Film Festival National Board of Review Motion Pictures Award for Short Film and Festival Award for Faculty Selects (2013)

Won - Whistler Film Festival Best International ShortWork Award (2013)

Nominated - Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Golden Reel Award (2014)

Nominated - Canadian Screen Award for Best Live Action Short Drama (2014)

Nominated - Krakow Film Festival Silver Dragon for Best Fiction Film

Short
2015 Devil's Work Yes Short
2016 Old Stone Yes Yes Won - Stockholm Film Festival Best Screenplay and Best Director (2016)

Won - Toronto International Film Festival Best Canadian First Feature Film (2016)

Won - Torino Film Festival Cipputi Award for best work related movie (2016)

Nominated - Canadian Screen Award for Original Screenplay (2017)

Nominated - Denver International Film Festival Krzysztof Kieslowski Award for Best Film (2016)

Nominated - Hong Kong International Film Festival Golden Firebird Award, SIGNIS Award, and FIPRESCI Prize (2016)

Nominated - Pacific Meridian International Film Festival of Asia Pacific Countries Grand Prix (2016)

Nominated - QCinema International Film Festival Pylon Award for Best Picture - Asian Next Wave (2016)

Nominated - Stockholm Film Festival Bronze Horse for Best Film (2016)

Nominated - Toronto International Film Festival Best Canadian Feature Film (2016)

Feature
2019 To Live to Sing Yes 2019 Cannes Film Festival - Director's Fortnight

Won - Shanghai Film Festival Best Film and Best Actress (2019)

Won - Guanajuato Film Festival - Special Mention

Feature

Ma contributed a short film to the Netflix series Homemade, released in June 2020. Set in San Sebastián del Oeste, Mexico, the short is centred around a letter Ma writes to his mother, voiced over in Mandarin.[8][9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "加籍華裔導演馬楠：《老石》不只是中國故事". Ming Pao (in Chinese). September 15, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Director Johnny Ma embraces fear in his film career". The Globe and Mail, March 9, 2017.
  3. ^ "La La Land wins the People's Choice Award at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival". National Post, September 18, 2016.
  4. ^ "Ma's 'Old Stone' gets Canadian academy's Best First Feature award". CTV News, January 2, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "Sundance Reveals 13 Projects Selected for 2014 Directors and Screenwriters Labs". Indiewire, May 8, 2014.
  6. ^ "TIFF's Top 10 films of 2013 taps Enemy, The F Word, Gabrielle". CBC News, December 3, 2013.
  7. ^ "Singing the feeling home". SHINE. Retrieved September 6, 2019.
  8. ^ "ACCLAIMED FILMMAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD JOIN TOGETHER FOR "HOMEMADE," A COLLECTION OF SHORT FILMS CREATED WHILE SHELTERING AT HOME" (Press release). Netflix. June 23, 2020. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  9. ^ Eric Kohn (June 30, 2020). "'Homemade' Review: Netflix Quarantine Anthology Is Pure Filmmaking Talent in Bite-Sized Pieces". IndieWire. Retrieved October 21, 2020.

External links[edit]

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