The phenomenon of cinematographers turning to direction is becoming common in the Chinese movie industry.

Zhang Yimou is, of course, the best-known example. Gu Changwei, whose director debut Peacock (Kong Que) won a Silver Bear at last year's Berlin International Film Festival, is another.

The latest name on this list is Hou Yong, whose Jasmine Women (Moli Hua Kai) is now showing in theatres across China.

Hou, 46, has worked on several masterpieces of contemporary Chinese cinema, including Tian Zhuangzhuang's The Blue Kite (Lan Fengzheng) and The Horse Thief (Dao Ma Zei) and Xie Jin's Opium War (Yapian Zhanzheng).

Like Gu, Hou used to work with Zhang as a cinematographer. They did three movies together The Road Home (Wo de Fuqin Muqin) and Not One Less (Yige Ye Buneng Shao) in 1999 and Happy Times (Xingfu Shiguang) in 2000.

Hou and Zhang are both from Xi'an, the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province. Although Zhang is 10 years older, the two attended the prestigious Beijing Film Academy in the same year, 1978, when the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) had just ended and the suspended national college entrance exam was resumed. Enrolled in the same year was Chen Kaige, who then majored in directing.

Jasmine Women which has won wide critical acclaim, is Hou's second attempt at directing. His first attempt was Bloody Sky (Tian Chu Xue) in 1991, which he described as half-baked, in reference to his yet-to-mature directing skills.

Compared with Bloody Sky, Jasmine Women shows Hou's growing talents in direction. It was first shown at the Shanghai International Film Festival in 2004 and won the Jury Prix Prize.

Jasmine Women is a story of love and loss over three generations in a single family in Shanghai. The Grandmother's name is Mo, the mother's name Li, and the daughter's, Hua. Put together, "Mo Li Hua" means jasmine flower in Chinese. The literal meaning of the movie's Chinese title is "blossoming jasmine."

Zhang Ziyi, Chinese cinema's most famous face in recent times, plays multiple roles that of the grandmother, the mother and daughter, all in their youth.

The movie, based on a short story by renowned novelist Su Tong, was shot in 2003. But disputes among its investors delayed its public release.

(China Daily May 6, 2006)