Born in Shanghai, China, he moved to Hong Kong with his parents at the age of five and graduated from the Hong Kong Polytechnic College in graphic design in 1980. After graduation, he enrolled in the Production Training Course organized by Hong Kong Television Broadcasts Limited and became a full-time scriptwriter. Between 1982 and 1987, he wrote about ten scripts, covering an array of genres from romantic comedy to action drama. Of these, he considered Final Victory (最後勝利; 1986Patrick Tam) his best script.
Since 1989, Wong Kar-wai has directed eight feature films and won numerous awards, including the best director's prize at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival for Happy Together.