“I believe in the mediation and healing power of film. Do you?”
Dr Hiu Man Chan is the Founder & Executive Director of UK-China Film Collab (UCFC), a non-profit, non-governmental organisation registered in the UK. She oversees UCFC’s daily operations, management and bears all struggles.
Favourite Films
Barry Lyndon (1975), King of Comedy (1999), Lust, Caution (2007), Chinese Box (1997)
Invited Talks, Intros & Panels
06 Dec 2025 – history sharing on ‘The Sinking of the Lisbon Maru’, National Memorial Arboretum, UK
24-30 Nov 2025 – Pre-screening intros to the official programme of Electric Shadows: Leicester Chinese Film Festival 2025, Phoenix Cinema, Leicester, UK
12 Nov 2025 – “On Innovation”, with Professor David Proverbs, DMU KTP Accelerator Programme, De Monfort University, Leicester, UK
10 Oct 2025 – Panellist, on free speech and journalism in the 20th century, Journeys Festival International, Leicester, UK
12 Sep 2025 – Panellist at “Creative Collaboration between the UK and China”, ABCP Annual Conference 2025, University of Surrey, UK
10 June 2025 – “‘The logics of passion: An inquiry into a philosophical foundation of creative enterprise”, Faculty Research Showcase, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
8 Feb 2025 – “Opportunities and challenges in digital infrastructure development within dance organisations: a Knowledge Transfer Partnership case study”, Igniting Creativity: Art, Education, Transformation and Change conference, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Leeds, UK (With Sally Doughty & Ebenezer Apata)
3 Feb 2024 – “The Wandering Earth 2 film screening and panel discussion”, organised by LSE’s Department of Government, BFI Southbank, London, UK
11 Jan 2024 – “Creating sustainable relationships workshop”, China-UK Creative Industries Hub, Online
13 Nov 2023 – “Blockchain and the Creative Industries: Challenges and Opportunities” as part of Leicester Business Festival, De Montfort University, Leicester, UK
1 Nov 2023 – “The task of a translator and the different dimensions of cultural translation in electric shadows”, USTB, Beijing, China
25 Oct 2023 – “International storytelling in corporate films”, RZ Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility, Beijing, China
23 Oct 2023 – “Searching for heritage inspired animation IPs between the UK and China”, XATU, Xi’an, China
15 Mar 2022 – “Business and Creative Opportunities in China for Liverpool film companies”, University of Liverpool, UK
28 Oct 2021 – “The Mermaid film screening and discussion”, King’s College London, UK
26 Oct 2021 – “An Inquiry into UK-China film diplomacy”, Cambridge University China Forum, Cambridge, UK
5 Feb 2019 – “Hong Kong New Wave: Legacy and Future Opportunities in International Film Business”, Birmingham City University, UK
28 Sep 2018 – “Early Film Criticism Culture in Amoy/Xiamen Local Newspapers before 1949”, Chinese Film Theory and Criticism Workshop 2, Hong Kong Baptist University
27 Sep 2018 – “The Task of a Translator as a Diplomat”, University of Hong Kong
22 Mar 2018 – “The Issues of Writings on Contemporary Chinese Art in British Newspapers”, Birmingham City University, UK
2018 – Introduction to the screening of Have a Nice Day (2017) at Phoenix Cinema, Leicester, UK
Jan 2018 – “Challenges in Theorising Hong Kong Cinema History”, The Hong Kong History Project The 2nd Postgraduate Workshop, University of Bristol, UK
15 Dec 2017 – “Writing Contemporary Chinese Art in Journalism: issues, challenges and possibilities”, Polish Institute of World Art Studies, Warsaw, Poland
Sep 2017 – “The Art of Moving Truth: An Inquiry into the Possibility of Writing Film Criticism as Journalism through Theory and Practice”, at The Future of Journalism: Journalism in a Post-truth Age?, Cardiff University, Wales
14 June 2017 – “Tracing the Heroine: a Historical and Aesthetic Investigation on CCTV’s television representation of the ‘Chinese mother of Belgium”, with Roel Vande Winkel at the Poetics of Asian Cinemas Conference, Lancaster University, UK
4 May 2017 – “A Critical Valuation of Current Debates in Chinese Film Criticism in Mainland China”, Chinese Film Theory and Criticism Workshop, Kings’ College, University of London, UK
June 2017 – ‘Release Me’: Seeking Communications Beyond the Empire of Signs”, IFVCR Network Conference, Cardiff University, Wales
May 2017 – “Rethinking Foucault’s Discourse”, guest lecture at the School of Journalism and Communication, Xiamen University, China
2015 – Introduction to the screening of Golden Gate Girls (2014) at Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff, Wales
16 Sep 2015 – “Authentic Intellectuals: Challenges in Diaspora beyond Nationalism”, at Diaspora beyond Nationalism Conference, Cardiff University, Wales
May 2015 – “Disrupting Boundaries: Then Where Do We Go Now?”, at Cultural Studies Association Annual Conference, Riverside, LA, USA
July 2014 – “Searching for Cross-Cultural Definitions of Chinese Cinema: Comparing Research Literature in English and in Chinese” at Asian Cinema Studies Conference, University of Macau
16 May 2014 – “Current Issues on Researching Chinese Cinema in the UK” at East Asian Screen Studies Symposium, King’s College London, UK
Nov 2013 – Book Launch: Phoenix Picturehouse: 100 Years of Oxford Cinema Memories, Phoenix Picturehouse Cinema, Oxford, UK
June 2013 – “Charlie Chaplin’s Revolution in China” at NECS Conference – ‘Media Politics – The Political Media’, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
Mar 2012 – “The Shared Dreams: Transnational Hong Kong Cinema through Nostalgia” at Asian Cinema Studies Society Conference, University of Hong Kong
Funded R&D Projects
2025-2029 – First Supervisor, “Bertie on Screen: An inquiry into the Bertrand Russell Archives and their screen adaptations potential for the East Asian market”, M4Cities Doctoral Collaborative Awards, Arts and Huamnities Research Council, in partnership with The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation
2023-2025 – Academic Supervisor, Management Knowledge Transfer Partnership between De Montfort University and FABRIC
2023 – Academic Lead, AKT21 Innovate Project between De Montfort University and Trinity CineAsia
2019 – Principal Investigator, To Search for a Sustainable UK-China Film Collaboration Model: Unlocking Issues Around Film Distribution Mechanisms
