Cathy Y. Yan is a Chinese-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her films include the comedy-drama film Dead Pigs (2018) and Birds of Prey (2020), the eighth installment of the DC Extended Universe.
Cathy Yan | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Yan in 2020 | |||||||
| Born | 1986 (age 37–38) | ||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||
| Alma mater | |||||||
| Occupation | Filmmaker | ||||||
| Years active | 2010–present | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 阎羽茜 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 閻羽茜 | ||||||
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Early life and education
editYan was born in China and raised in Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C. While her family was living in China, Yan's father was given a visa to study sociology in the U.S. Two years later her mother left for America, and Yan remained in China with her grandparents. At age four she was reunited with her parents in America.[1]
As a child, Yan grew up with various creative outlets courtesy of her relatives and "deeply creative father".[2] By age 8, Yan was the kid carrying around a video camera, eager to express herself through art and through dancing as a choreographer.[2] She moved to Hong Kong when she was fourteen years old,[2] where she attended high school.[1]
She graduated with an A.B. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 2008 after completing an 133-page-long senior thesis, titled "Can the Mouse Byte the Paper Tiger? Internet-mediated Social Movements and Political Change in China", under the supervision of Lynn T. White.[3] She later graduated in 2016 from New York University's MBA/MFA dual degree program, where she studied at both the Stern School of Business and the Tisch School of the Arts.[4][5][6][7]
Career
editYan worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal[8] in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing before turning to filmmaking.[6]
After writing and directing several short films, Yan also shot a web-series and content for brands such as Armani, Subway, Spotify and The Innocence Project.[9] By 2018, Yan made her feature debut with Dead Pigs.[1] The film was inspired by the 2013 Huangpu River dead pigs incident, in which 16,000 dead pigs were found floating down the Huangpu River.[8] Funded by Chinese investors, Yan shot the dark comedy in Shanghai with a bilingual crew then completed the film in New York; director Jia Zhangke executive produced.[8] Dead Pigs premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won a Special Jury Award for ensemble acting.[10] Yan removed 12 minutes from the film in its wider February 2021 release on the streaming platform Mubi.[11]
In April 2018, Yan was selected to direct the Harley Quinn DC Extended Universe superhero film Birds of Prey, based on the comic of the same name. The film was released on February 7, 2020 to positive reviews.[12] Margot Robbie starred and co-produced and Christina Hodson wrote the script.[8] Yan was the second woman and the first Asian woman to direct a DC film (or any US superhero film).[13]
As of January 2020[update], Yan is working on directing and producing A24's[14] film adaptation of Sour Heart, a collection of short stories by Jenny Zhang. Yan will co-write the script alongside Zhang for the autobiographical coming-of-age story about the immigrant experience of a young girl who moved from Shanghai to New York in the 90s.[15]
In February 2021, Yan started developing an adaptation of Rachel Khong's short story, The Freshening. FilmNation Entertainment and Ali Wong were set to produce the feature, with Yan writing and directing.[16]
In 2021, Yan directed an episode of the HBO drama series Succession called "The Disruption", in season three, episode three, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.[17]
Styles and themes
editYan's cinematic influences include Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. Since Yan's father was a big fan of the nineties era of Chinese cinema, Yan expanded into East Asian art-house cinema, which included Wong Kar-wai.[11] Including American cinema, Yan appreciates the works of Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson. Yan considers Dead Pigs as "a marriage of the American indie and classic Chinese indie tones she grew up with."[11]
Filmography
editShort film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Phishing | No | No | Yes |
| 2013 | Last Night | Yes | Yes | No |
| 2014 | Dinosaur Rider | No | No | Yes |
| Entropy | No | No | Yes | |
| Of Tooth and Time | No | No | Yes | |
| 2015 | Humpty | No | No | Yes |
| 2016 | Down River | Yes | Yes | No |
| According to My Mother | Yes | Yes | No | |
| 2017 | Groomed | No | No | Yes |
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Dead Pigs | Yes | Yes |
| 2020 | Birds of Prey | Yes | No |
Television
| Year | Title | Note |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Succession | Episode "The Disruption" |
Further reading
editCathy Yan on Indie Wire
Cathy Yan on Princeton Alumni Weekly
Cathy Yan on The New York Times
References
edit- ^ a b c Schwartz, Alexandra (29 February 2020). "Cathy Yan's Accidental Movie Career". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-03-16.
- ^ a b c Canva, Michael (February 5, 2020). "Cathy Yan's rapid rise from journalist to 'Birds of Prey' director: 'I didn't think you could do this professionally'". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 6, 2020.
- ^ Yan, Cathy Y. (2008). "Can the Mouse Byte the Paper Tiger? Internet-mediated Social Movements and Political Change in China".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ Teodorczuk, Tom (2018). "Sundance award-winning director Cathy Yan on shunning Hollywood for China with her debut movie 'Dead Pigs'". MarketWatch. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ "Tisch at Sundance - 2018 Sundance - Premieres". Tisch School of the Arts. 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Cathy Yan". Tisch School of the Arts. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "NYU MBA/MFA Dual Degree". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
- ^ a b c d Rife, Katie (April 17, 2018). "Meet Cathy Yan, the woman hired to direct DC's next Harley Quinn movie". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2018-05-03.
- ^ "Cathy Yan". tisch.nyu.edu. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ Kiang, Jessica (25 January 2018). "Sundance Film Review: 'Dead Pigs'". Variety. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ a b c Giroux, Jack (2021-02-12). "Cathy Yan Interview: Dead Pigs, Birds of Prey, and More". SlashFilm.com. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ Couch, Aaron (September 24, 2018). "Margot Robbie's 'Birds of Prey' Gets 2020 Release Date confirmed". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 24, 2018.
- ^ Fleming, Mike Jr (17 April 2018). "Cathy Yan Is Warner Bros' Choice To Direct Margot Robbie In Next Harley Quinn Film". Deadline. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ Vary, Adam B. (2020-01-28). "'Birds of Prey' Director Cathy Yan Reveals the Crucial Advice Patty Jenkins Gave Her". Variety. Retrieved 2020-02-06.
- ^ "Cathy Yan". Gold House. Retrieved 2021-12-05.
- ^ Lang, Brent (2021-02-05). "Cathy Yan to Write, Direct Sci-Fi Comedy 'The Freshening' for FilmNation (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on 2021-02-05. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
- ^ "Cathy Yan". IMDb. Retrieved 2021-12-05.