Zhang Yimou, born in 1950 in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, is a Chinese director, cinematographer, actor, one of the representatives of the fifth generation of Chinese directors, honorary doctor at Boston University and Yale University, and distinguished professor at Beijing Film Academy.
　　He was enrolled in the Department of Cinematography at Beijing Film Academy in 1978. Zhang debuted as a cinematographer in the One and Eight (1984) and won the title of Outstanding Chinese Cinematographer. He debuted as a leading actor in the Old Well (1986) and won the 11th People’s Hundred Flowers Awards for Best Actor, Best Actor at the 2nd Tokyo International Film Festival and the 8th Golden Rooster Awards for Best Actor. His directorial debut Red Sorghum (1987) won the Golden Bear Award at the 38th Berlin International Film Festival. His directorial works, namely the Red Sorghum, Ju Dou, Raise the Red Lantern, The Story of Qiu Ju, Not One Less and The Road Home, between 1987 and 1999 won multiple awards at home and abroad, including three nominations for the Academy Awards and five nominations for the Golden Globes. Zhang started directing commercial films since 2002, such as the Hero, House of Flying Daggers, Curse of the Golden Flower and The Flowers of War, which set new gross box office record in China twice and earned the highest annual gross box office of Chinese films four times. In 2021, he was named the 34th Golden Rooster Awards for Best Director for the Cliff Walkers, and the Best Director at the 15th Asian Film Awards for the One Second. He directed the Snipers in 2022. The film Full River Red (2023) directed by Zhang earned a gross box office of RMB 4.5 billion, ranking sixth in the gross box office of Chinese films.
　　He also served as the Creative Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Summer Games Beijing 2008, Director of the G20 Summit Evening Gala held in Hangzhou in 2016, and Creative Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and the Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. As such, Zhang Yimou became the world’s first Creative Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at both the Olympic Summer Games and Olympic Winter Games.
　　Moreover, Zhang Yimou once worked as a member of the International Jury of the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival, Jury President of the 18th Tokyo International Film Festival and Jury President of the 64th Venice International Film Festival.