Steven Jen-Hon Kung is a Taiwanese American film director and writer.[1][2]

Early life and education

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Kung was born and raised in Virginia Beach, Virginia where he attended Kempsville High School. He received a BA with High Distinction in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia, and an MFA in Motion Picture Producing from the Peter Stark Program at the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts.[3]

Career in film

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Kung worked as an assistant producer on the film Mad Men[4] and associate producer on the film "The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez", starring Ernest Borgnine.[5] Kung's documentary, SPEW: The World of Competitive Debate, premiered at the Independent Film Festival of Boston.[6] He was the writer and director of the narrative feature, A Leading Man,[7][8] which premiered at the Hawaii International Film Festival[9][10][11] It was the first film he had directed,[12] and it won awards for Best Drama, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the Asians on Film Festival.[13] In 2014, PolicyMic listed Kung as one of six Asian-American Filmmakers shattering America's Asian Film Bias.[14] He is currently a director in the Disney ABC Directing Program for the 2016-2018 television seasons.[15]

References

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  1. ^ "Not sexy enough? The plight of Asian American male actors". International Examiner, Yayoi Lena Winfrey February 7, 2015
  2. ^ "A Leading Man: LAAPFF Review". Hollywood Reporter, 5/13/2014 by Justin Lowe
  3. ^ Dalton, Chris. "Crew". A Leading Man. ALM Film LLC. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  4. ^ "Where are all the Asian rom com leads?". Daily Life, July 11, 2013 . Candice Chung
  5. ^ "Review: ‘The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez’". Variety, Joe Leydon December 6, 2012
  6. ^ Dodd, Patton. "SPEW: The World of Competitive Debate". IFFB Festival Program. Independent Film Festival of Boston. Retrieved 8 March 2014.
  7. ^ "“A Leading Man” puts an Asian male center stage". Meniscuszine, By Jim Higgins – December 24, 2012
  8. ^ "Hong Kong FILMART: Young, Rich & Overlooked- The Demographic Studios Should be Targeting". SSN Insider, March 25, 2014 Diane Panosian
  9. ^ "Steven J. Kung: ‘A Leading Man’ at Austin Film Festival". Austin Fusion Magazine
  10. ^ "FILM REVIEW: A Leading Man by Jimmy Zhang". Asians on Film, .October 16, 2013
  11. ^ Sanders, Jason (9 January 2014). "Hawaii International Film Festival 2013". Filmmaker Magazine. IFP. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  12. ^ "A guide to making Hollywood less white, by the filmmakers who have done it". Washington Post, 2016 02 25, By Gendy Alimurung
  13. ^ Eriksson, Scott. "Asians on Film Festival 2014 Award Winners". Asians on Film Festival. Asians on Film. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  14. ^ Ter, Dana. "6 Young Asian-American Filmmakers Who Are Shattering America's Film Bias". Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  15. ^ "Disney-ABC Directing Program Names 10 New Shadowers; Alumni Nab Footholds". 26 October 2016.