Po Fung

In this Hong Kong name, the surname is Po.

Po Fung
蒲鋒
Born
Po Fung

Hong Kong
Occupations
  • Film historian
  • Film critic
Years active1993–present

Po Fung (Chinese: 蒲鋒) is a Hong Kong film historian and critic. He began his career as a film critic in 1993 writing for Sing Tao Wan Po, and became a co-founder and chairperson of the Hong Kong Film Critics Society. He also served as a research officer at the Hong Kong Film Archive and currently works as an independent researcher in Taiwan.

Early life and education

Po was born in the 1960s.[a] He developed an interest in literature and history from a young age,[2] especially in reading and watching wuxia novels and films.[3] He studied history at university and remained passionate about reading,[2] citing Frederick Forsyth's books as the spark that ignited his love for literature.[4] He befriended film critic and media executive Lam Chiu-wing, whose influence sparked his interest in cinema.[2] After graduating, he began writing his own film reviews in the 1990s.[5]

Career

Early ventures in Hong Kong (1993–2018)

After Dora Liu, deputy editor of Sing Tao Wan Po, resigned, Lam Chiu-wing was appointed to substitute her, and he invited Po to contribute film reviews.[6] Po became a full-time film critic from 1993 to 1994 but struggled to make a living.[2] Initially aiming to become a screenwriter, he was referred by Lam to work as a researcher for TVB,[7] where he mainly conducted field research or examined historical and literary materials to assist screenwriters in creating television dramas.[2] While working as a researcher, Po continued writing film reviews part-time until 2010,[2] contributing to tabloids such as Express News and Hong Kong Today.[6] Po explained that when writing for Express News, he primarily covered mainstream films at first, later expanding to include classic Western films.[6] But unlike many critics who were reluctant to review less well-known films, Po was willing to write about them, therefore the chief editors assigned him to focus on niche films, making him one of only two critics with dedicated film review columns alongside Sek Kei.[6]

In 1995, he co-founded the Hong Kong Film Critics Society.[8] In 1997, he co-founded POV Bookstore, a film bookstore with branches in Yau Ma Tei and Wan Chai, with Lam and fellow critic Shu Kei, but the bookstore closed in 1999.[9][10] He served as chairperson of the Society from 2001 to 2002,[6] and participated in research on Sinophone cinema at the Hong Kong Film Archive, initially working under research officer Wong Ai-ling, including editing Classic 200: The Best 200 Chinese-Language Films in 2005.[2] After Wong left the Archive in 2010, Po took over as the research officer in August of that year.[2][6] He published The Sword of Light and Shadows: Analyzing the Texture and Context of Wuxia Films in the same year.[11] He spent 15 months on research and the book traced the entire history of wuxia cinema in the 20th century.[3] Matthew Cheng of Wen Wei Po commended it as "the best Hong Kong film review book" and that "no one understands wuxia films better than Po Fung";[12] while Night Fung of Hong Kong Daily News praised the book for "showing lesser-known breakthroughs by Bruce Lee" and "deepening readers' appreciation of his contributions and significance".[13] In 2012, Po published Mastering Virtue: The Cinematic Legend of a Martial Artist, an essay collection based on 20 years of research into Wong Fei-hung films.[14]

Po left the Hong Kong Film Archive in 2014 to focus on writing Hong Kong film history.[2] That year, he edited Always in the Dark: A Study of Hong Kong Gangster Films, a collection of reviews on Hong Kong triad films.[2] In 2017, he co-edited Qun Fang Pu: Contemporary Hong Kong Film Actresses, a biography of popular Hong Kong and Taiwanese actresses who debuted in Hong Kong cinema in the 1970s, with film critic Cecilia Wong.[15] Kwong Hiu-yan of HK01 praised Po's use of her experience at the Hong Kong Film Archive to document and archive the actresses from multiple perspectives;[16] while Trista Luo of Orange News described the book as "painting a personal portrait of Hong Kong actresses and showcasing a vibrant collective cinema scene".[17]

Research in Taiwan (2018–present)

In June 2018, Po migrated to Taiwan through the immigrant investor program.[1][18] He and his wife had considered emigrating after the Umbrella Movement in 2014, citing loss of confidence in Hong Kong's future and political divide of the city as the reasons.[1][19] In November, he opened Sword of Light and Shadows Bookstore (電光影裡書店) in Ximending, Taipei,[1] named after his book The Sword of Light and Shadows,[5] which he described as the only bookstore in Taiwan dedicated to film books.[1][10] The store sold videodiscs from the Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute and Hong Kong film publications that were rare in Taiwan.[8] The bookstore closed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[2][20] Po continued to write reviews for Hong Kong media after migrating to Taiwan,[5] and he has focused on research and writing since the bookstore's closure.[20] He also served as a jury member for the 57th Golden Horse Awards in 2020.[21]

In March 2022, Po published Searching for Old Traces: A Genealogy of Chinese Melodramatic Films, a film history book on Sinophone melodramas.[22] Building on his research from the Hong Kong Film Archive, he expanded the scope to include Shanghainese and Taiwanese films he studied while in Taiwan.[22] Film critic Joyce Yang praised the book as "rigorous, substantial, and the research always carries weight" and noted that it "offered important insights into the elements of this genre".[23] That year, he also published No Evil Goes Unpunished: The Texture and Context of Hong Kong Gangster Films, another book on Hong Kong triad films expanding his research from Always in the Dark.[2] In 2023, he released Irresistible Hong Kong Cinema 2021, a journal that served as an add-on to Hong Kong Cinema 2021: Is the World Yours or Ours?, an essay collection by the Hong Kong Film Critics Society, featuring films that were censored or not released in Hong Kong.[2]

Personal life

Po is married and the couple resides in Taipei, Taiwan.[19] He obtained Taiwanese citizenship around September 2019.[1]

Bibliography

Year Title Original title Publisher Ref.
2010 The Sword of Light and Shadows: Analyzing the Texture and Context of Wuxia Films 電光影裏斬春風—剖析武俠片的肌理脈絡 Hong Kong Film Critics Society [11]
2012 Mastering Virtue: The Cinematic Legend of a Martial Artist 主善為師—黃飛鴻電影研究 Hong Kong Film Archive [14]
2013 Golden Harvest: Leading Change in Changing Times 乘風變化—嘉禾電影研究 [24]
2014 Always in the Dark: A Study of Hong Kong Gangster Films 江湖路冷—香港黑幫電影研究 [2]
2017 Qun Fang Pu: Contemporary Hong Kong Film Actresses 群芳譜：當代香港電影女星 Hong Kong Film Critics Society [15]
2022 Searching for Old Traces: A Genealogy of Chinese Melodramatic Films 閒尋舊蹤跡—華語文藝電影源流考 Bookman Bookstore [22]
No Evil Goes Unpunished: The Texture and Context of Hong Kong Gangster Films 無惡不作—香港黑幫電影的肌理脈絡 Hong Kong Film Critics Society [2]
2023 Irresistible Hong Kong Cinema 2021 禁不了的香港電影2021 Sword of Light and Shadows Bookstore [2]

Notes

  1. ^ In a September 2019 article by Liberty Times, it was reported that Po Fung was in his fifties.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f 鍾麗華 (5 September 2019). "不願被中國化 港影評人改當台灣人". Liberty Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p 王振愷 (5 July 2023). "用史家的筆，寫類型電影：專訪蒲鋒《無惡不作—香港黑幫電影的肌理脈絡》". Funscreen Weekly (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 24 April 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  3. ^ a b 方晴 (20 November 2020). "影評人蒲鋒 為武俠片著書立說". Hong Kong Economic Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  4. ^ 林通賢 (6 July 2017). "【Roller系列】好戲唔一定要做資料搜集　蒲鋒：港片習慣咗唔做". HK01 (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  5. ^ a b c 许文贞 (22 March 2019). "超级影迷开书店 细数港台电影风华". China Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  6. ^ a b c d e f 鄭傳鍏 (July 2010). "文字工兵 文化中介─和蒲鋒談電影寫作" (PDF). HKinema (in Chinese). Hong Kong Film Critics Society. p. 22-23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 June 2024. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  7. ^ 林通賢 (14 June 2017). "【Roller系列】資料搜集員解答編劇奇問　蒲鋒：太Detail會教壞人". HK01 (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  8. ^ a b 陳煒智 (2 December 2018). "蒲鋒移居台灣 閱讀電影". Merit Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  9. ^ "林超榮逝世｜創作《歡樂今宵》出書記六七暴動 跨媒體鬼才曾嘆此生無憾：做到晒所有人生願望". Yahoo! News (in Chinese). 13 December 2023. Archived from the original on 17 December 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  10. ^ a b 李小孟 (4 May 2023). "話題》飛地書店降落西門町滿週年！打造世界性的社群據點，使離散者有處可聚". Openbook (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 13 January 2026. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  11. ^ a b 阿杜 (26 October 2010). "轉載《電光影裡斬春風》書介：阿杜專欄". Hong Kong Film Critics Society (in Chinese). Wen Wei Po. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  12. ^ Cheng, Matthew (19 November 2010). "《电光影里斩春风》：香港影评最好的书". China News Service (in Chinese). Wen Wei Po. Archived from the original on 27 November 2010. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  13. ^ Fung, Night (27 November 2010). "轉載《電光影裡斬春風》書介：李小龍於功夫片的突破". Hong Kong Film Critics Society (in Chinese). Hong Kong Daily News. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  14. ^ a b Scott, Mathew (23 April 2025). "Jackie Chan and Jet Li played kung fu hero Wong Fei-hung in film, but what's the story behind the legend?". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 25 April 2025. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  15. ^ a b 蔣琳 (20 March 2017). "《群芳譜》繪出香港女星個人肖像". Hong Kong Commercial Daily (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  16. ^ Kwong, Hiu-yan (1 June 2017). "四十三位在香港電影中揚眉的女子 一本書看曾經的造星夢工廠". HK01 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  17. ^ Luo, Trista (18 April 2023). "薦書｜讀這些好書，了解更多香港電影". Orange News (in Chinese). Retrieved 5 February 2026.
  18. ^ 陳沛冰 (20 April 2022). "港人移民難3／政府嚴審 中國大陸出生港人落戶台灣夢碎". Central News Agency (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 25 October 2025. Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  19. ^ a b "移居台開書店 影評人：港府不會保護市民". Apple Daily (in Chinese). 14 April 2019. Archived from the original on 30 August 2021. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  20. ^ a b 許文貞 (7 August 2020). "書店版圖變化快 亞典、電光影裡歇業". China Times (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  21. ^ 許瑞麟 (2 November 2020). "李屏賓擔任今年金馬評審團主席！「2位準影帝后」確定來台隔離出席". Yahoo! News (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 February 2026.
  22. ^ a b c 楊喜盈 (15 May 2022). "星期日文學‧蒲鋒：找出模仿痕跡，追源溯流的電影筆記". Ming Pao (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  23. ^ Yang, Joyce (12 July 2022). "走一遭文藝片中的崎嶇典故──《閒尋舊蹤跡》書評". Hong Kong Film Critics Society (in Chinese). Retrieved 6 February 2026.
  24. ^ Po, Fung (9 January 2024). "林超榮和他的影評". Hong Kong Film Critics Society (in Chinese). Retrieved 28 February 2026.
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