Johnnie TO (1955, Hong Kong) formed a partnership in 1996 with Wai Ka Fai, resulting in the production company Milky Way and their first film, Handover, in 1997. To has made successful films in virtually all genres, from film noir, romantic dramas and comedies to violent thrillers and action films. He is famously prolific, building a vast body of work since his debut, The Enigmatic Case (1980). He received a Time Machine Career Achievement Award at the 2005 Sitges Film Festival. In 2007, IFFR screened a retrospective of his work as part of the programme ‘Filmmaker in Focus: Johnnie To’. That same year, Mad Detective was nominated for a Golden Lion in Venice, his second nomination in two years. In 2009, Vengeance was nominated for a Golden Palm in Cannes. While in France, he was made an officer of the French Order of Arts and Letters.