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.
Neither Donkey Nor Horse
Neither Donkey Nor Horse
Neither Donkey Nor Horse
Jack & Lou: A Gangster Love Story
Jack & Lou: A Gangster Love Story
Jack & Lou: A Gangster Love Story
Wei-Lai
Wei-Lai
Wei-Lai
Graduation
Graduation
Graduation
Mother in the Mist
Mother in the Mist
Mother in the Mist
The Spirit Became Flesh
The Spirit Became Flesh
The Spirit Became Flesh
Backlog
Backlog
Backlog
Echoes of Kef Time
Echoes of Kef Time
Echoes of Kef Time
Heather's Voice
Heather's Voice
Heather's Voice
DIRECTING
For ALL projects, links are available upon request.
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
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.
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
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
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
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
PRODUCING
For ALL projects, links are available upon request.
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
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
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
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
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