Renowned Hong Kong director and producer, Huo Yaoliang, who went to the mainland China for filming in 2004, passed away on February 1, 2024, at the age of 68 in the Sha Tin Hospital in Hong Kong due to heart disease and kidney cancer.
Huo Yaoliang studied at the Design Institute of Hong Kong Polytechnic University in his early years. In the 1970s, he enrolled in a TV director training class and became a director. He was involved in the directing of TV series such as “Man in the Net”, “The Bund”, and “Switching”. In the 1980s, he shifted to the film industry and directed his first film, “Vietnamese Boy”, which was released in 1982. He also directed films like “Unemployment”, starring Leslie Cheung and Andy Lau, “Sentimental Son”, starring Chow Yun-fat and Anita Mui, and “Excuse Me Please!!”, starring Michael Hui, Joey Wong, and Carol Cheng.
According to a report by “Hong Kong 01”, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong Film Workers’ Association, Tian Qiweng, confirmed the news of Huo Yaoliang’s passing in February this year. The official announcement was made on March 6.
Records show that besides being a director, Huo Yaoliang also acted in films. In 1985, he starred in the movie “Goodbye My Hero” and was nominated for the Hong Kong Film Award for “Best Supporting Actor”. After 2000, Huo Yaoliang frequently filmed in mainland China, with notable works including “Seven Swords Below Juechen Mountain”, “Guarding the Sun Guarding You”, and “Heavenly Destiny Seven Fairy Maidens”.
Huo Yaoliang directed two controversial films, “Naked Lambs” and “Heart as Strong as Iron”. According to Hong Kong media reports, in order to promote “Naked Lambs”, Wang Jing, who was known as the “most successful Category III film director of the 90s in Hong Kong”, had declared in advance that he would produce provocative character posters. Wang Jing later mentioned that when these posters were published on the front page of newspapers, the explicit content caused a sensation in Hong Kong.
When asked why he chose to settle in Beijing in 2004, Huo Yaoliang explained that earlier in the same year, he experienced the loss of three friends within a short period, which was too much for him to bear. Feeling overwhelmed by memories in every corner of Hong Kong, he found solace in director Tsui Hark’s invitation to work on the television version of “Seven Swords”. Huo Yaoliang shared, “In April, a close friend passed away, followed by two more in December. Every corner of Hong Kong holds memories for us, and I found it challenging to cope. It was then that Tsui Hark was filming ‘Seven Swords’ and invited me to work with him, so I went along.”
While Huo Yaoliang did not explicitly mention the identity of the three departed friends, it is widely known that Leslie Cheung passed away in April 2003, indicating a close relationship between the two.