One of the leading figures of the "Fifth Generation" of Chinese directors. In 1985 he directed his first feature, The Black Cannon Incident, which won the Huabiao Awards, the Golden Rooster Awards, the Hong Kong Film Awards and other film awards. In 2002 Huang Jianxin served as Chinese production consultant on Kill Bill: Vol. 2. He directed Dislocation, Stand Up, Don't Bend Over, Back to Back, Face to Face, The Founding of a Republic and Beginning of the Great Revival, among others, and executive-produced a series of major Chinese productions including The Warlords, Bodyguards and Assassins, The Taking of Tiger Mountain, Operation Mekong, My People, My Country and The Battle at Lake Changjin. His films have repeatedly broken Chinese box office records and have won awards many times at international film festivals. The Black Cannon Incident and Back to Back, Face to Face, both directed by him, were named among Asiaweek's "100 Best Chinese Films of the 20th Century" and selected for "100 Best Films in a Century of Chinese Cinema". In 2021, 1921 won Best Screenplay at the 34th China Golden Rooster Awards. Huang Jianxin has also been awarded the title "National Film Artist with Outstanding Contributions".