Peter
Pau, HKSC
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
 This
is Peter Pau's first Oscar nomination. He was also nominated for an
American Society of Cinematographers (ASC) Outstanding Achievement Award
and a BAFTA (British equivalent of an Academy Award) for Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Pau was born and raised in Hong Kong through his early teens and completed
his secondary education in Canton in mainland China. He was a teacher
in China for six years before completing his education at the San Francisco
Art Institute, where he concentrated on still photography and filmmaking.
After graduation, Pau returned to Hong Kong where he compiled a growing
body of work as a director/cinematographer and occasional associate
producer of many low budget feature films, including The Bride with
White Hair, The Phantom Lover, Savior of the Soul, To Be Number One,
Warriors of Virtue and Anna Magdalena. Pau earned his first
mainstream film credits during the past several years for Bride of
Chucky and Dracula 2000.
"Cinematography is like poetry, says Pau. "Every film is
different and no two people express themselves exactly the same way."
He adds, "This film is a simple love story like a Chinese watercolor
painting with very mild contrast and subtle colors. Sometimes the action
is very slow like still water. The camera and actors are like graceful
tai-chi dancers in a ballet. Other times characters appear to fly over
roofs and tree tops. Either way, we had to make it believable. Success
doesn't come from heaven. You have to struggle for it to happen. Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon is proof that you can make an audience feel
what a story is about even if they have to read sub-titles."
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