Huo Jianqi is a Chinese film director. Like the cinematographer turned director Gu Changwei, Huo Jianqi began his cinematic career in the art department. Nearly all of Huo's films have been written by his wife and collaborator, Qiu Shi, who works under the name "Si Wu." Unlike many of his contemporaries, Huo rarely has had issues with the Chinese government regarding his films, leading some western critics to label him the "darling director of China's film bureaucracy."