Shum was educated in Hong Kong, the UK and the US. Upon his return to Hong Kong, he co-founded "City Magazine" with John Chan, and worked as its editor. At the same time, he began working in television and radio. He was also a student activist in the 1970s back in his youth and was a member of a
Trotskyist vanguard party the
Revolutionary Marxist League. In 1983, he set up the film production company
D&B Films, along with
Sammo Hung and
Dickson Poon. He later founded another film company with John Chan, Maverick Films Ltd. Sham's most prolific period working as an actor was during the 1980s. Of the 45 films he has appeared in, 33 were during this period. Notable appearances include Sammo Hung's
Lucky Stars films
Winners and Sinners (1983) and
Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars (1985), and starring roles alongside comedy partner
Richard Ng in the
Pom Pom series (1984–1986). Sham is credited as a producer on over 20 films, including
Hong Kong 1941 (1984),
The Lunatics (1986),
Legacy of Rage (1986) and
The Banquet (1991). He also worked as an assistant director on the 1987 Michelle Yeoh film
Magnificent Warriors and also has credits on a number of other films, with roles such as planning, executive production and presentation. In 1992, Sham co-hosted the
Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony. Throughout much of the 1990s, films took a back seat as Shum was heavily involved with the Pro-Democracy movement in Hong Kong. In 2005, he was appointed the Executive Secretary of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, by the government-sponsored Film Development Committee (FDC). In December 2007, he was enrolled as an executive committee member of the
Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild. His latest role is as executive producer, alongside
Jackie Chan, for the film
Wushu (2008), which was directed by Antony Szeto and starred
Sammo Hung. == Filmography ==