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ROBIN WANG

DIRECTOR. PRODUCER. SCREENWRITER.

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BIOGRAPHY

        Zhongyu (Robin) Wang is a Los Angeles – based director and producer, whose expansive filmography has been honored with a Student Academy Award®, two DGA Awards Grand Prize, and two College Television Awards.

 

        As a director and producer, Robin has brought his works to over a hundred international film festivals worldwide, including many prominent Oscar-qualifiers such as LA Outfest, Cleveland, St. Louis, Urbanworld, deadCenter, and LA Shorts. He is especially known for directing the historical biopic short film, Neither Donkey Nor Horse, based on the life of the first Nobel Prize-nominated Chinese scientist, Dr. Wu Lien-teh. The film, sponsored by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, premiered at the 51st Telluride Film Festival, won the Student Academy Awards®, and is currently longlisted for Best Live Action Short Film at the 97th Academy Awards®.

 

        Robin's other directorial works include the coming-of-age Asian American comedy Wei-Lai. The film won Best Comedy Series at the 42nd College Television Awards, Best Comedy of the Year at Newfilmmakers Los Angeles, and has been an official selection at Bentonville Film Festival, Newport Beach Film Festival, Hollyshorts, as well as a Finalist for KCET – Fine Cut and CAA Moebius. The film has received distributions on Kanopy, Viddsee, and Omeleto, where it currently garnered 290K views.

 

        From 2023 to 2024, Robin helmed numerous higher-budget genre films and period pieces as the director. Notably, he co-directed the feature film Jack & Lou: A Gangster Love Story, starring Linda Hamilton from the Terminator Franchise. The film is set in 1920s Al Capone’s Chicago, with select scenes filmed on the Warner Brothers Studio Lot.

 

        Robin was born in Xi'an, China but had spent most of his youth traversing the rich and intricate cultural landscapes of China, Singapore, and the United States. As a Chinese diaspora storyteller, Robin is recognized for his global Asian-themed dramas with a blend of bittersweet poignancy, twisted ethics, and heartfelt realities. As one who wanders on the margin of cultures, he wants to continue to explore the meaning of "home" and "homelessness" against the massive backdrop of cultural displacement and the Asian diaspora.

 

        Robin holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English (Highest Distinction) from Duke University and an MFA degree in Film & Television Production from the University of Southern California.

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DIRECTING

For ALL projects, links are available upon request.

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NEITHER DONKEY NOR HORSE

2024

Synopsis: Amidst the outbreak of the 1910 Manchurian Plague, a young Chinese doctor must defy prejudices of both the East and the West to champion his groundbreaking theory of the disease and seek the truth that will heal it.

Genre: History, Biography, Drama, Thriller

51st Student Academy Award® Winner

        - Qualified for the 97th Academy Award® Best Live Action Short Film

Telluride Film Festival, 2024

Official Selections:

St. Louis International Film Festival, 2024

Newport Beach Film Festival, 2024 (Outstanding Narrative Short)

San Diego International Film Festival, 2024

Anchorage International Film Festival, 2024

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JACK AND LOU: A GANGSTER LOVE STORY

2024

Synopsis: The life story of ‘Machine Gun’ Jack McGurn, Al Capone’s main enforcer and alleged perpetrator of the St. Valentine’s Day massacre, as told through the eyes of the love of his life, and notorious alibi, Louise Rolfe. After falling in love with each other, the duo will do everything in their power to rise to the top of the Chicago Outfit, regardless of the tragic consequences.

Genre: Crime, Romance, Drama

Feature Film starring Linda Hamilton, with the backings of Warner Brothers.

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WEI-LAI

2022

Synopsis: Tired of getting pushed and punished by his own parents, Wei-Lai, an 11-year-old Chinese American boy, decides to show up at his best friend’s family and offer himself up for their adoption.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

42nd College Television Awards Winner for Best Comedy Series

Official Selections:

Bronzelens Film Festival, 2022 (Best Student Short Nomination)

Bentonville Film Festival, 2022

Newport Beach Film Festival, 2022
NewFilmmakers Los Angeles, 2022 (Best Annual Comedy Short Nomination)
KCET - Fine Cut Festival of Films, 2022
USA Film Festival, 2023 (Best Student Film Winner)
Tallgrass Film Festival, 2022

Distributions: Kanopy, Omeleto, Viddsee, Samansa, New Studio

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GRADUATION

2020

Synopsis: Following a graduation celebration, four Chinese must navigate their relationships' future as dictated by the circumstances of life and their families.

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Official Selections:
Urbanworld Film Festival, 2020
LA Outfest, 2021
Out on Film, Atlanta, 2021

deadCenter Film Festival, 2022
Outfest Fusion 2021
San Jose International Short Film Festival, 2020
Asian American International Film Festival, 2021
New Filmmakers LA 2021
Catalina Film Festival, 2021

 

Distribution: Viddsee, Dekkoo

 


 

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PORTRAIT OF A LADY

2019

Synopsis: A jaded business associate brings home a portrait of a beautiful woman. Slowly seduced by its mysterious charm, he gets more than what he bargained for when the woman jumps out of the portrait and starts to terrify him.

Genre: Comedy, Horror

Official Selection:

Midsummer Scream Halloween & Horror Convention, 2021

First Youth Film Festival (3rd place), 2021

Fright Night Film Fest, 2020

Killer Valley Film Festival, 2020

Horror Movie Freaks Film Festival, 2020

Hollywood Horrorfest (Finalist), 2020

Shockfest, 2021

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BLIND CHANCE

2019

Synopsis: In a lonely motel room, two boys who came out to their parents form a special, self-affirming bond.

Genre: Drama

Official Selections:
Palm Springs LGBT Film Festival, 2020

Asians on Film Festival of Shorts, 2021

 

Distribution: Dekkoo

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PRODUCING

For ALL projects, links are available upon request.

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MOTHER IN THE MIST

Synopsis: Following Wuhan’s Coronavirus lockdown, a rural single mother, Zhao, embarks on a dangerous journey in search of her preemie newborn baby stranded in Wuhan City Hospital. Joining her path is a mysterious eight-year-old girl, who shares the same determination to reunite with her mother in the city.

Directed by Kay Niuyue Zhang

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Road Movie

DGA Student Awards Grand Prize for Best Woman Filmmaker

Jury Award Winner American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at 75th Cannes Film Festival Village International

Best Narrative Short at KCET - Fine Cut Festival of Films

Official Selections:

Tallin Black Nights Film Festival, 2021

Newport Beach Film Festival, 2022

SCAD Savannah Film Festival, 2021

San Diego International Film Festival, 2021

New Era Film Festival, 2021

the 58th Golden Horse Awards, Best Short Film semi-finalist

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THE SPIRIT BECAME FLESH

2023

Synopsis: An unbeliever returns to his deeply religious hometown only to find that his community has fallen prey to a sinister monster that they believe is the Holy Spirit of God.

Directed by Jesse Aultman

Genre: Horror

Official Selections: 

Screamfest Horror Film Festival, 2023

Sidewalk Film Festival, 2023

Dances with Film: New York, 2023

FilmQuest, 2023

Telluride Horror Show, 2023

Chattanooga Film Festival, 2023

Distribution: Alter

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BACKLOG

2023

Synopsis: The incredible true story of a young collegiate woman who is called to find justice not only for her rape three years prior - but for thousands neglected by the US legal system.

Directed by Jacqueline Elyse Rosenthal

Genre: Drama, Women, Social Justice

DGA Student Film Awards Grand Prize for Best Woman Filmmaker

43rd College Television Award Winner for Best Drama Series

Best Student Film at Cordillera International Film Festival, 2023

Best Student Film at Hot Springs International Women’s Film Festival, 2023

Best Drama at Imagine This Women’s Film Festival, 2023

Finalist at the Wrap 2023 ShortList Film Festival, 2023

Official Selections:

Cleveland International Film Festival, 2023 (Best Student Short Winner)

LA Shorts, 2023

American Pavilion Emerging Filmmaker Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival, 2023

Newport Beach Film Festival, 2023

Sidewalk Film Festival, 2023

Breckenridge Film Festival, 2023

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ECHOES OF KEF TIME

2022

Synopsis: The last family in a long line of Armenian-American folk musicians must find a way to keep their tradition alive.

Directed by Avo John Kambourian

Genre: Documentary, Music

Official Selections:

Newport Beach Film Festival, 2022

Boston Film Festival, 2022

Seattle Asian American Film Festival, 2023

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HEATHER'S VOICE

2022

Synopsis: Tasked with promoting a tech company’s VR innovations, a young scientist risks her job when she decides to use her creations to faithfully serve a grief-stricken family --- rather than follow the company’s wish to stage a publicity stunt.

Directed by Shicong Zhu

Genre: Drama, Sci-fi

Official Selection:

LA Shorts, 2023

deadCenter Film Festival, 2023

Reel Sisters of Diaspora, 2023

2021

Producing

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