Born in Shanghai in 1965, Lou graduated from Beijing Film Academy in 1989, majoring in directing. His films Suzhou River (2000), Purple Butterfly (2003), Summer Palace (2006), Spring Fever (2009), Love and Bruises (2011), Mystery (2012), Blind Massage (2014), The Shadow Play (2018) and Saturday Fiction (2019) have been selected by and won prizes at major international festivals such as Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Rotterdam, Taipei Golden Horse Awards, Chinese Independent Film Festival, and Asian Film Awards. Some of the major accolades include Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution at the Berlinale (Blind Massage) and the Best Screenplay Award at Cannes Film Festival (Spring Fever). In 2018, Lou Ye was invited to become a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.