Tsao Chien, born in 1974, is a Taiwanese director, screenwriter, and actor. After beginning his career making documentaries and short films, often in collaboration with director Chung Mong-hong, he gained international recognition with his debut feature film, "The Great Buddha+" (2017). This black comedy, shot predominantly in black and white, received widespread critical acclaim for its visual style and its sharp satire on social inequality. The film triumphed at the prestigious Golden Horse Awards, winning key awards such as Best New Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, and was also selected as Taiwan's submission for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. His second film, "Classmates Minus" (2020), solidified his reputation as an auteur capable of exploring the lives of the working class with a distinctive mix of black humor, social critique, and melancholy, in turn earning significant accolades in the Asian cinema landscape.