This article's citation style may be unclear. The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation, footnoting, or external linking. (September 2011)

Traditional Tibetan painting or Thanka showing the wheel of life and realms of samsāra

Samsāra or Samsāra (Sanskrit: संसार), (in Tibetan called "khorwa")^[1], literally meaning "continuous flow", is the cycle of birth, life, death, rebirth or reincarnation within Hinduism, Buddhism, Bön, Jainism, Sikhism, and other Indian religions. In modern parlance, samsara refers to a place, set of objects and possessions, but originally, the word referred to a process of continuous pursuit or flow of life. In accordance with the literal meaning, the word should either refer to a continuous stream of consciousness, or the continuous but arbitrary drift of passions, desires, emotions, and experiences.

In most Indian religions, life is not considered to begin with birth and end in death, but as a continuous existence in the present lifetime of the organism and extending beyond. The nature of the actions (karma) committed during the course of each lifetime, (good or ill) determines the future destiny of each being. Samsara is closely linked with the idea of rebirth (or reincarnation), but mainly refers to the condition of life, and the experience of life.

In Buddhism, at the moment of death the consciousness (consciousness of the different senses, such as eye consciousness, ear consciousness etc.), acts as the seed for the spawning of the new consciousness in a new biological structure, conducive to the volitional (Saṅkhāras) impulses at the moment of death (which are themselves affected by previous volitional impulses). In other Indian religions, the volitional impulses accrued from the present life are transmitted to a consciousness structure popularly known as the soul, which, after an intermediate period (in Tibetan called the bardo), forms the basis for a new biological structure that will result in rebirth and a new life. This cyclical process ends in the attainment of moksha. If one lives in extremely evil ways, one may be reborn as an animal or other unfortunate being.^[2]

In a modern vernacular context, particularly in the Himalayas, samsara is also a word used to describe how life is full of attachments and comings-and-goings, a subtle state of suffering. For example, when saying goodbye to a loved one, one might utter, "ah... samsara."

Etymology and origin[link]

Samsara means "to flow on", to perpetually wander, to pass through states of existence.

The historical origins of a concept of a cycle of repeated reincarnation are obscure but the idea appears frequently in religious and philosophical texts in both India and ancient Greece during the middle of the first millennium BCE.^[3] Orphism, Platonism, Jainism and Buddhism all discuss the transmigration of beings from one life to another. . Reincarnation was adopted from this religious culture by Brahmin orthodoxy, and Brahmins first wrote down scriptures containing these ideas in the early Upanishads.^{[4][5][6][7][8][9]}

Cycle of rebirth[link]

The concept of samsara is closely associated with the belief that one continues to be born and reborn in various realms in the form of a human, animal, or other being (depending on karma).^[2] In particular, Jainism^[10] maintains that, if one performs extremely evil karma, also as a plant or even as a rock, and similar tendencies can be found in Purāṇas, in the Bhagavadgītā, in the Manusmṛti^[11] and in similar texts. Nonetheless, most philosophic traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism^[12] maintain that plants and even more obviously rocks cannot be included in samsāra since they lack the possibility of experience (bhoga) and, hence, of karma.

[edit] Saṅsāra in Hinduism

In Hinduism, it is avidya, or ignorance, of one's true self that leads to ego-consciousness of the body and the phenomenal world. This grounds one in kāma (desire) and the perpetual chain of karma and reincarnation. Through egoism and desire one creates the causes for future becoming. The state of illusion that gives rise to this is known as Maya.

Through ascetic practice one finally attains sanctity and liberation (moksha or mukti).

Broadly speaking, the holy life (brahmacarya) which leads to liberation is a path of self-purification by which the effects of sins are released.

The Hindu Yoga traditions hold various beliefs. Moksha may be achieved by love of Ishwar/God (see bhakti movement, see Mirabai), by psycho-physical meditation (Raja Yoga), by discrimination of what is real and unreal through intense contemplation (Jnana Yoga), and through Karma Yoga, the path of selfless action that subverts the ego and enforces understanding of the unity of all.

The Rig Vedic, Yajur Vedic and Atharva Vedic Upanishads like Aiteraya Upanishad, Taittiriya Upanishad, Swetaswatara Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad etc. contains the most ancient ideas on Reincarnation of soul.^[13][14][15] As confirmed by latest research in the field of archeology and Astronomy, Vedas were older than 2600 BC which takes it far earlier than all other religious texts.^[16] Hence, based on this, the earliest known texts to have spoken about karma, sansara and Moksha or Mukti, are the Vedas and other Dharmic Texts. (Dharmic Texts stands for the Vedas, Ithihasas and Puranas). The Vedas describe Karma as the result of enjoying the sensory pleasures of this material universe.^[17]

[edit] Saṅsāra in Jainism

In Jainism, Saṅsāra is the worldly life characterized by continuous rebirths and reincarnations in various realms of existence. Saṃsāra is described as mundane existence, full of suffering and misery and hence is considered undesirable and worth renunciation. The Samsāra is without any beginning and the soul finds itself in bondage with its karma since the beginningless time. Moksha is the only liberation from samsāra.

[edit] Samsara in Buddhism

The concept of Samsara as a cycle of rebirth and suffering within the six realms is taught in Buddhism. To understand the concept of Samsara it is important to know about the six realms, rebirth, karma, and nirvana, which is known as the state beyond the suffering of Samsara.

[edit] Saṅsāra in Sikhism

In Sikhism, it is thought that due to the commendable past actions and deeds (known as karma or kirat) that people obtain the chance of human birth, which is regarded in Sikhism as the highest possible opportunity on Earth and therefore should not be wasted. Only by continued good actions and the "Grace of the Almighty" can one obtain liberation from the continuous cycle of births and deaths of various bodily forms that the soul has been undergoing since the creation of the universe. The end of the cycle of transmigration of the soul is known as mukti. For Sikhs, the state of mukti can be achieved whilst still alive, known as "Jivan Mukat", literally "liberated whilst alive".

[edit] Samsāra in Surat Shabda Yoga

In Surat Shabda Yoga, attaining self-realization results in jivan moksha/mukti, liberation/release from sansara, the cycle of karma and reincarnation while in the physical body.^{[citation needed]}

Surat Shabda Yoga cosmology presents the constitution of the initiate (the microcosm) as an exact replica of the macrocosm. Consequently, the microcosm consists of a number of bodies, each one suited to interact with its corresponding plane or region in the macrocosm. These bodies developed over the yugas through involution (emanating from higher planes to lower planes) and evolution (returning from lower planes to higher planes), including by karma and reincarnation in various states of consciousness.^{[citation needed]}

In popular culture[link]

Samsara appears in the manga series Naruto, in which there's an Eye Technique after Byakugan and Sharingan called the Rinnegan. In English, it literally means the Samsara Eye, and allows the user to perform any Jutsu wanted because its power taps directly into the wheel of life. It is also frequently referenced in the Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga video game series, of which the plot revolves around one point; to reach a paradise called Nirvana.

See also[link]

• Karma
• Reincarnation
• Metempsychosis
• Nirvana
• Great Perfection
• Ego (spirituality)
• Nondual
• Maya (illusion)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Sansara – Tour of This Universe and Beyond
• Reincarnation: A Simple Explanation
• Karma in Sikhism
• About Reincarnation

Ron Fricke is an American film director and cinematographer, considered to be a master of time-lapse photography and large format cinematography. He was the director of photography for Koyaanisqatsi (1982) and directed the purely cinematic non-verbal non-narrative feature Baraka (1992). He designed and used his own 65 mm camera equipment for Baraka and his later projects. He also directed the IMAX films Chronos (1985) and Sacred Site (1986). His most recent work was as cinematographer for parts of the film Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (he was hired to shoot the eruption of Mt Etna in Sicily for use in scenes of the volcanic planet Mustafar). The sequel to Baraka, Samsara, was released in 2011.

Fricke writes about his work: "I feel that my work has evolved through Koyaanisqatsi, Chronos and Baraka. Both technically and philosophically I am ready to delve even deeper into my favorite theme: humanity's relationship to the eternal".[1]

Filmography[link]

As Director[link]

• Chronos (1985)
• Sacred Site (1986)
• Baraka (1992)
• Samsara (2011)

As Cinematographer[link]

• Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
• Atomic Artist (1982)
• Chronos (1985)
• Sacred Site (1986)
• Baraka (1992)
• Samsara (2011)

See also[link]

• Godfrey Reggio, director of Koyaanisqatsi

External links[link]

• Ron Fricke at the Internet Movie Database

Lisa Gerrard
Background information
Birth name	Lisa Gerrard
Born	(1961-04-12) 12 April 1961 (age 51)
Origin	Melbourne, Australia
Genres	Neoclassical, New Age, Ethereal Wave, Gothic rock
Occupations	Composer Singer Musician
Instruments	Vocals, accordion, keyboards, yangqin, dulcimer, guitar
Years active	1981–present
Labels	Gerrard Records
Associated acts	Dead Can Dance
Website	Lisa Gerrard

Lisa Gerrard (born 12 April 1961) is an Australian musician, singer, and composer who rose to prominence as part of the music group Dead Can Dance with former music partner Brendan Perry.

Since her career began in 1981, she has been involved in a wide range of projects. Gerrard received a Golden Globe Award for the music score to the film Gladiator, on which she collaborated with Hans Zimmer. In addition to singing, she is an instrumentalist for much of her work, most prolifically using the yangqin (a Chinese hammered dulcimer).

Early life[link]

Lisa Gerrard was born 12 April 1961 in Melbourne and grew up in the suburb of Prahran with her Irish immigrant parents. On her upbringing, she has said she grew up with "Mediterranean music blaring out of the houses" and that this influenced her music, particularly on later Dead Can Dance albums and in her solo and collaborative works.^[1]

Gerrard's first foray into forming bands and creative music-making was the highly experimental Little Band scene. It was at one of these little band events that she first met Dead Can Dance cofounder Brendan Perry. Perry recalls, "It never occurred to me that we would one day collaborate musically together because at the time I thought her music was too avant garde. I particularly remember one song that she sang about finding a man in the park and asking her mother if she could bring him home to keep in her wardrobe as she attacked this chinese dulcimer with two bamboo sticks."^[2]

Career[link]

Dead Can Dance[link]

Dead Can Dance originally formed as a quartet in 1981 in Melbourne, but in 1982 moved to London with members Brendan Perry, Lisa Gerrard, and bass player Paul Erikson. Shortly after coming to England, Erikson flew back to Australia, leaving the band as a duo. Dead Can Dance recorded eight albums on the 4AD Records recording label beginning with the 1984 LP, Dead Can Dance. The band split in 1998, but reunited in 2005 for a world tour.

Solo and collaborative career[link]

	"Now We Are Free" (2000) noicon 30 second extract from "Now We Are Free" by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. Theme from Gladiator (2000 film).
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

In 1995 Gerrard recorded and released her first solo album The Mirror Pool. After the release of this album, she continued to work with Dead Can Dance, releasing their final album, Spiritchaser, in 1996. Following this, in 1998 she recorded Duality in collaboration with Pieter Bourke. This album would mark the beginning of an extensive collaboration for a number of film scores, including The Insider and Ali. Gerrard began a new collaboration with Patrick Cassidy in 2004 with the release of Immortal Memory. Again, this collaboration was furthered in film work, including Salem's Lot.

The following year in 2005, Gerrard contributed to the Ashes and Snow Soundtrack. For the songs "Womb" and "Wisdom," Gerrard and Patrick Cassidy wrote and performed together. Gerrard's collaboration with Cassidy extended to include work with conductor Julie Rogers on the songs "Devota" and "Vespers."

In 2006, Sanctuary, a documentary about the life and work of Lisa Gerrard, was recorded and released in September 2006. It is the work of multi-skilled producer/director Clive Collier and features extensive interviews with Lisa Gerrard and various people who have collaborated and worked with her in the past including Michael Mann, Russell Crowe, Hans Zimmer, and Niki Caro. The documentary was released on DVD by Milan Entertainment on 24 April 2007.

In the same year, Lisa Gerrard released her second solo album The Silver Tree. This album was markedly different from her previous work and was also her first album released outside of 4AD Records. The album was first released on iTunes, with a wider physical release planned at a future date. The album was nominated for the Australian Music Prize for 2006. It is currently shortlisted as one out of nine of the best Australian albums. In 2007 a retrospective album The Best of Lisa Gerrard, a compilation of fifteen songs, was released covering her career in Dead Can Dance, solo work, and film work.

A world tour was undertaken in 2007 beginning in April in Melbourne, Australia. This tour marked the first time Lisa Gerrard had toured in Australia, with a performance in three cities. The tour was followed by performances in Europe and North America. More performances took place in Europe and Russia from 30 October to 22 November 2007.^[3] In November 2007, Lisa Gerrard collaborated with German electronic musician Klaus Schulze on the double-album Farscape. The album was released 27 July 2008 and was followed by a European tour.

In 2009 Lisa Gerrard completed work on the documentary by Australian adventurer Tim Cope called On the Trail of Genghis Khan and contributed her voice to the soundtrack, which began airing in 2010, of the Japanese NHK taiga drama Ryōmaden, a story based on the life of Sakamoto Ryoma. Also in 2009, Lisa Gerrard created her own record label, Gerrard Records, which, aside from being a conduit for the release of Gerrard's future works will also act to promote and support unrecognised artists of all genres. In September 2009, Gerrard and Klaus Schulze performed another tour in six European cities - Warsaw, Berlin, Amsterdam, Essen, Paris, and Brussels. This tour coincided with the release of Come Quietly, a joint project between Gerrard and Schulze that was released during the tour.

Lisa Gerrard released her third solo album, The Black Opal in October 2009. The album included collaboration with Michael Edwards, Patrick Cassidy, Pieter Bourke, and James Orr and was the first release to come from Gerrard Records.

In 2010 Gerrard released a new album with fellow composer Marcello De Francisci titled "Departum" from Gerrard Records which was followed by the release of three new singles; "Coming Home" - as featured in Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole, "Entry" and "Come This Way".

Gerrard also collaborated with Prash Mistry from "Engine Earz Experiment" on a track titled "Spirit Guide" which will appear on his upcoming album in 2011.

On 1 December 2010 Gerrard capped off a busy 2010 with the release of a new soundtrack album with Cye Wood titled "The Trail of Genghis Khan" which contains music from the Gerrard/Wood score to the documentary TV series by Australian adventurer Tim Cope.

Film career[link]

Paris concert

Lisa Gerrard's first experience in composing music for a film came with the 1989 Spanish film El Niño de la Luna, directed by Agustín Villaronga. The film score was composed by Dead Can Dance and the film featured Lisa Gerrard in her first acting role. El Niño de la Luna describes the story of David, a young orphan with special powers, escaping an institution with the help of a fellow institute inmate, Georgina, played by Lisa Gerrard.

Gerrard participated in a number of musical scores but came to fame as a film composer after recording The Insider in 1999, with Pieter Bourke, and Gladiator in 2000, with Hans Zimmer, which received an Academy Award nomination for best music score, although only Zimmer was nominated. It did, however, win a Golden Globe Award for both composers. Gerrard's score for the New Zealand independent film Whale Rider consisted entirely of solo material; a soundtrack album was released by 4AD.

In 2005 Gerrard collaborated with Ennio Morricone for Fateless followed by a collaboration with Jeff Rona on the score for the feature film "A Thousand Roads" and the song On an Ocean for the Henry Poole Is Here score. Gerrard along with Dead Can Dance also provided several contributions to the soundtrack of Baraka, a visual journey showcasing mankind's impact on our planet. Gerrard was also invited by Denez Prigent to collaborate with him on his piece "Gortoz a ran - J'attends" (meaning "I await"), a piece that was later used in the soundtrack of Ridley Scott's film Black Hawk Down.

In 2009 Lisa Gerrard wrote the score for Balibo, for which she won a Best Feature Film Score award at the 2009 APRA Screen Music Awards and an Aria Award for Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album at the 2009 Aria Awards. Gerrard finished 2009 by contributing her voice to the theme song for the Japanese NHK taiga drama Ryōmaden, which began airing in 2010.

In 2010 Gerrard completed the score for "Tears of Gaza" with Marcello De Francisci which was well received despite its controversial theme.^[4] Gerrard also scored the Jim Loach directed Oranges and Sunshine starring Emily Watson and Hugo Weaving released in April 2011 which garnered her with another nomination at the 2011 IF Awards for Best Music Score.

In November 2010 Gerrard provided vocals and additional music for the post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller Priest scored by Christopher Young which was released in 2011.

In November 2011 Gerrard completed the score for Burning Man which won her Best Music Score at the 2011 Film Critics Circle of Australia awards announced on 10 April 2012, beating scores for Snowtown, The Hunter and Red Dog.

Vocal ability[link]

Europe, 2007.

Gerrard possesses the vocal range of a contralto, spanning from E3-F5.^[5] Her voice has been described as rich, deep, dark, mournful and unique.^[6][7][8]

She also has the ability to extend upwards into the dramatic mezzo-soprano range, examples of such would be on the songs The Host of Seraphim, Elegy, Space Weaver, Come This Way and One Perfect Sunrise.^{[9][10][citation needed]} Gerrard however performs more predominantly in the dramatic contralto range in her other songs, Sanvean, Sacrifice, Largo and Not Yet.^{[11][12][13][14]}

Gerrard sings many of her songs, such as "Now We Are Free", "Come Tenderness", "Serenity", "The Valley of the Moon", "Tempest", "Pilgrimage of Lost Children", "Coming Home" and "Sanvean" in an idioglossia (an idiosyncratic language) that she has developed since the age of twelve.^{[citation needed]}

Personal life[link]

Rotterdam, Netherlands 2007

Gerrard has two children^[15]. She is married to a Polish graphic design artist/music producer Jacek Tuszewski with whom she has a daughter (born 1992). Her nephew, Jack Gerrard, plays for Cairns' post-hardcore act Almost a Square as the drummer and back-up vocalist.

Discography[link]

Dead Can Dance[link]

Career after Dead Can Dance[link]

Lisa Gerrard with Klaus Schulze 2009.

• Solo Albums
  • The Mirror Pool (1995)
  • The Silver Tree (2006), release on iTunes and by Rubber Records and re-released in 2010 by Gerrard Records
  • The Best of Lisa Gerrard (2007)
  • The Black Opal (2009) released by Gerrard Records

• Singles
  • "Sanvean" (1995)
  • "The Human Game" (with Pieter Bourke, 1998)
  • "Abwoon" (with Patrick Cassidy, 2003)
  • "Hommage A Polska. 17 września" (with Klaus Schulze, 2009)
  • Coming Home (2010) released by Gerrard Records
  • Entry (2010) released by Gerrard Records
  • Come This Way (2010) released by Gerrard Records

• Collaboration Albums
  • Duality (1998), with Pieter Bourke
  • Immortal Memory (2004), with Patrick Cassidy
  • Ashes and Snow (2006) with Patrick Cassidy
  • Farscape (2008) with Klaus Schulze
  • Rheingold (2008) with Klaus Schulze
  • Dziękuję Bardzo (2009) with Klaus Schulze
  • "Come Quietly" (2009) with Klaus Schulze
  • Departum (2010) with Marcello De Francisci
  • The Trail of Genghis Khan (2010) with Cye Wood

Paris, 2009

• Miscellaneous
  • Microfile: Centerfold 7" ("Centerfold" and "Window") (1981)
  • Compilation entitled "From Belgrave with Love" ("Mossaic" by Lisa Gerrard and "Summer house" by Microfilm) 1981
  • The Future Sound of London sample her vocals from the song "Dawn of the Iconoclast" for their 1992 hit single "Papua New Guinea" (1992)
  • French promo CD-single "La bas" and "Lament"
  • Compilation entitled "These Wings without Feathers" ("Dreamsong" and "Untitled") (1996)
  • Guest performer for the industrial/electronic music group Delerium entitled "Forgotten Worlds" on the album, Karma (1997)
  • "The Wings of a Film - The Music of Hans Zimmer" ("Now We Are Free" live)
  • With Orbital: "One Perfect Sunrise" on the album The Blue Album (2004)
  • Orbital featuring Lisa Gerrard: "One Perfect Sunrise" (radio mix) CD single
  • Orbital featuring Lisa Gerrard: "One Perfect Sunrise" (Phil Hartnoll mix) CD single
  • With Denez Prigent: "J'attends - Gortoz A Ran" with Denez Prigent on the album Irvi
  • "An Hini a Garan" with Denez Prigent on the Album Sarac'h
  • Mantras of a Lost Archetype (unreleased solo album)
  • The Ashes and Snow art exhibition by Gregory Colbert, (with Patrick Cassidy and Michael Brook, "Devota", "Vespers", "Womb", "Wisdom")
  • View from a Window collaborative song recording in track title "There in Your Arms" (2008) with Josiah Brooks
  • "Wisdom of Wind" composition with Jeff Rona, recorded by Tarja Turunen for her album My Winter Storm (2007) and present in the "Enough" single (2009)

Movie score composing and contributions[link]

• Dèmoni 2 (1986) (as Dead Can Dance)
• El Niño de la Luna (1989) (as Dead Can Dance, also with Gerrard in her acting debut)
• Baraka (1992) (as Dead Can Dance, with Michael Stearns)
• Heat (1995) featured previously recorded material from The Mirror Pool
• Nadro (1998)
• The 13th Warrior (1999) with Graeme Revell (score later withdrawn)
• The Insider: Soundtrack (1999), with Pieter Bourke
• Gladiator (2000) with Hans Zimmer
• Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture (2000, released 2001) with Hans Zimmer
• Mission: Impossible II (2000) with Hans Zimmer
• Black Hawk Down (2001) - Song: "J'attends - Gortoz A Ran" with Denez Prigent
• Ali (2001) with Pieter Bourke
• 9/11 (2002) - Song: "Sorrow" composed with Hans Zimmer
• Whalerider (Original Soundtrack) (2003)
• Tears of the Sun (2003) with Hans Zimmer
• The West Wing (Television) (2003) - Song: "Sanvean" in the episode 7A WF 83429
• King Arthur (2004) - Song: "Amergin's Invocation"
• One Perfect Day (2004)
• The Passion of the Christ (2004) with Patrick Cassidy (score withdrawn)
• Man on Fire (2004) with Harry Gregson-Williams
• 'Salem's Lot (TV mini-series) (2004) with Patrick Cassidy and Christopher Gordon
• Layer Cake (2004)
• A Thousand Roads (2005) with Jeff Rona
• Constantine (2005) (score incomplete and withdrawn)
• Fateless (2005) with Ennio Morricone ("A song", "A Voice from the Inside", "Return to the Life")
• Seoul Train (2005)
• The Greater Meaning of Water (2006) previously recorded material
• The Mist (2007) (The Host of Seraphim)
• Playing for Charlie (2008)
• Ichi (2008) with Michael Edwards
• Henry Poole Is Here (2008)
• Balibo (2009)
• Ryomaden (2010) Theme Song to TV Series
• From Ararat to Zion (2010) with Ara Torosyan
• Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010) -"The Host of the Seraphim" (DCD) and "Coming Home" (solo).
• Oranges and Sunshine (2010)
• Tears of Gaza (2010)
• Samsara (sequel to Baraka) composer of original music, with Michael Stearns and Marcello De Francisci
• Priest - vocals and additional music
• Deus Ex: Human Revolution (2011)
• Diablo 3 (2011)

Live at the Forum, Melbourne, 2 April 2007

Sources[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lisa Gerrard

• Lisa Gerrard: Official Site
• Lisa Gerrard at the Internet Movie Database

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (March 2011)

Shawn Ku
Ku at the screening of Beautiful Boy at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	New Jersey, U.S.
Years active	current

Shawn Ku is a U.S. choreographer and motion picture director.^[1] He has also danced on Broadway,^[2] and acted in an independent feature-length film. Inspired by his family's personal connection to the Virginia Tech shooting and unexpected death of a visiting friend, Shawn Ku developed his 2010 film "Beautiful Boy" from those experiences.^[3]

Personal life[link]

Ku went to Harvard University as a premedical major and was accepted to Columbia medical school, before beginning his entertainment career.^[4]

Credits[link]

• Samsara (2001) - actor
• Making Tracks (2002) - choreographer
• Pretty Dead Girl (2004) - writer, director
• The American Mall (2008) - choreographer, director
• Beautiful Boy (2010) - writer, director

References[link]

External links[link]

• Shawn Ku at the Internet Movie Database

This article about a United States film director is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Christy Chung (simplified Chinese: 钟丽缇; traditional Chinese: 鍾麗緹; Mandarin Pinyin: Zhōng Lìtí; Jyutping: Zung1 Lai6 Tai6; Vietnamese: Chung Lệ Đề, born 19 September 1970) is Chinese-Canadian actress. She was born in Montreal to a Chinese father and a Vietnamese mother.

Chung grew up in Brossard, Quebec, a suburb of Montreal, with French and Vietnamese as mother-tongues. She later learned English, Mandarin and Cantonese.

While studying for a career in the tourism industry at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), she entered and won the "Miss Chinese Montreal" contest in 1992. She then went to Hong Kong, in her first trip away from home, to participate in the Miss Chinese International Pageant 1993, in which she won despite not knowing a single Chinese word. This opened doors for her to launch her acting career there, despite not speaking a word of Cantonese at the time, and despite her extremely limited acting experience (an uncredited ten-second non-speaking role as a gum-chewing prostitute in Denys Arcand's Love and Human Remains). She had to choose between acting in Hong Kong and becoming the weather-forecast presenter at Société Radio-Canada, the French-language government television network in Canada.

A role in The Bride with White Hair 2 brought her instant recognition, and she became a well-known star in Chinese-language popular culture, acting in a large number of films including some films starring Stephen Chow, as well as The Bodyguard from Beijing starring Jet Li. She was married for a time to Glen Ross, and gave birth to daughter (Yasmine) in Montreal in the middle of the 1998 Ice Storm. Chung and Ross were divorced in 2002, but remain on good terms. Chung has sole custody of Yasmine.

Giving birth to Yasmine temporarily had a negative effect on her career because of a stereotypical impression that a mother could not function as a sex symbol, but her career recovered in 2000. More recently, she had roles in Samsara and Jackie Chan's movie The Medallion. She added Thai to her language repertoire when she starred in Nonzee Nimibutr's 2001 film Jan Dara. Singapore FHM magazine voted her the "Sexiest Woman in Asia" in 2000.

She is a brand ambassador and spokeswoman to slimming service Marie France Bodyline, prominently appearing on billboards and print ads, and is also known to be a fan of English football club Chelsea.

Despite her success, she remains mostly unknown in Quebec, where she was born and grew up, because she has done most of her film work in Cantonese.

Chung was recently seen at the 2007 Sina Awards and is currently working on an album.

In 2003, Chung married to music producer Jon Yen. They have two daughters, Jaden Chloe Yen, who was born on August 2008, and Cayla Janie Yen (3.3 kg) on February 8, 2010. Chung and Jon Yen divorced in 2011, citing pressures on Jon Yen from her success in showbiz.

She has also since retired from showbiz, and has been living in Beijing. Chung is now a restaurant owner. She recently starred in Bruce Lee, My Brother playing the role of Bruce Lee's mother and Aarif Lee portrayed Lee.^[1]

Filmography[link]

• Dear Enemy (film) (2011)
• Bruce Lee, My Brother (2010)
• Hong Kong Express (2005) (TV)
• Astonishing (2004) - Mandy
• Fantasia (2004) - Jane Lam, aka Little Britney
• Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils (2003 TV series) - Kang Min
• The Medallion (2003) - Charlotte Watson
• Never Again (Lee Soo Young Music Video) (2001) - the Mother in the Video
• Samsara (2001) - Pema
• Jan Dara (2001) - Khun Boonlueang
• Asian Charlie's Angels (2001) (TV)
• Gen-Y Cops (2000) - Inspector Chung
• Conman in Tokyo (2000) - Banana
• Tau mung (2000) - Sophia
• Troublesome Night (1997) - Mrs. To
• All's Well, Ends Well 1997 (1997) - Little Shien
• '97 Aces Go Places (1997) - Li Lai-Shen
• The God of Cookery (1996) - High School Fantasy Girl
• Tai Chi Boxer (1996) - Rose
• Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star (Yun cai zhi li xing) (1996) - Christie Lee/Angel of Nine Heavens
• Red Wolf (1995) - Lai
• Doctor Mack (1995) - Jamie
• Passion 1995 (1995) - Tina
• Faithfully Yours (1995) - Miss Tang
• Man Wanted (1995) - Yung
• Love on Delivery (1994) - Lily
• Hail the Judge (1994) - Stone Mansion
• Modern Romance (1994) - Ady
• Mermaid Got Married (1994) - Wong Siu May, the mermaid
• I Wanna Be Your Man (1994) - Ron
• The Bodyguard from Beijing (1994) - Michelle Yeung
• Whatever You Want (1994) - Pearl Ko
• The Sting 2 (1993) - Lily
• The Bride with White Hair 2 (1993) - Moon

^{[2] [3]}

References[link]

External links[link]

• Christy Chung at the Internet Movie Database
• hkcinemagic entry
• Interview (French)
• La Presse article (French)
• http://www.montrealmirror.com/ARCHIVES/2002/010302/cover.html