Cao Baoping

2016 U.S.-China Film Summit Honoree

Cao Baoping
Writer, Director and Producer

Cao Baoping is known for his subtle exploration of human emotions and compelling crime dramas that are both dark and humorous. He debuted as a director with Trouble Makers, which was screened at the 2006 Berlin International Film Festival and Montreal International Film Festival and won the New Talent Jury Award and Asian Audience Choice Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival. He won a Best New Director Award at the 2008 San Sebastian International Film Festival for The Equation of Love and Death.

Cao was selected by the Sundance Institute in 2010 for its exclusive Screenwriters Lab. His next project, Einstein and Einstein, garnered prizes in 2014 at film festivals in Berlin, Milan and Beijing. Cao won Best Director at the 2015 Shanghai International Film Festival for The Dead End, and his latest crime drama, Cock and Bull, opened in China in September. Cao has demonstrated a wide range as a storyteller. His recent film noir style has prompted comparisons to Quentin Tarantino, who himself is a longtime student of Chinese film. Cao graduated from Beijing Film Academy, where he remains a professor teaching screenwriting to the next generation of Chinese filmmakers.