Yung Chang
Encyclopedia
Yung Chang (born 1977) is a Chinese Canadian
film director
.
. He is a Canadian filmmaker currently based in Montreal
, where he earned a degree in film production in 1999 from Concordia University
. Yung is also a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse
School of the Theatre in New York City
, where he studied the Meisner technique
.
Awards highlights for Up the Yangtze include: 2009 Independent Spirit Awards
Nominee; 2009 Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
; Best Canadian Documentary, 2007 Vancouver International Film Festival
; Best Documentary Feature, 2008 San Francisco International Film Festival
; 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Group Canada’s Top 10 film; finalist for the IDFA Joris Ivens Award, 2007 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam; and Grand Jury nominee for Best Documentary in the World Cinema competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
. Yung Chang is also the recipient of the 2008 Yolande and Pierre Perrault
award for most promising filmmaker at the 2008 Rendez-vous du cinema québecois; received the 2008 Don Haig Award at Hot Docs
; and the Charles Guggenheim
Emerging Artist Award at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
in North Carolina.
He is currently co-editing Lixin Fan
’s Last Train Home
and developing his next feature documentary about the fruit underworld.
Chinese Canadian
Chinese Canadians are Canadians of Chinese descent. They constitute the second-largest visible minority group in Canada, after South Asian Canadians...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Biography
Yung Chang is the director of Up the YangtzeUp the Yangtze
Up the Yangtze is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the transition towards consumer capitalism from a farming,...
. He is a Canadian filmmaker currently based in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, where he earned a degree in film production in 1999 from Concordia University
Concordia University
Concordia University is a comprehensive Canadian public university located in Montreal, Quebec, one of the two universities in the city where English is the primary language of instruction...
. Yung is also a graduate of the Neighborhood Playhouse
Neighborhood Playhouse
The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is an actor training school at 340 East 54th Street in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner.-History:...
School of the Theatre in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he studied the Meisner technique
Meisner technique
The Meisner technique is an acting technique developed by the American theatre practitioner Sanford Meisner.Meisner developed this technique after working with Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler at the Group Theatre and as head of the acting program at New York City's Neighborhood Playhouse and...
.
Awards highlights for Up the Yangtze include: 2009 Independent Spirit Awards
Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit...
Nominee; 2009 Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards
The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China...
; Best Canadian Documentary, 2007 Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
; Best Documentary Feature, 2008 San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
; 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
Group Canada’s Top 10 film; finalist for the IDFA Joris Ivens Award, 2007 International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam; and Grand Jury nominee for Best Documentary in the World Cinema competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. Yung Chang is also the recipient of the 2008 Yolande and Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault
Pierre Perrault was a Québécois documentary film director. He directed 20 films between 1963 and 1996. He was one of the most important filmmakers in Canada although largely unknown outside of Québec...
award for most promising filmmaker at the 2008 Rendez-vous du cinema québecois; received the 2008 Don Haig Award at Hot Docs
Hot Docs
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival is North America's largest documentary film festival, conference, and market, held annually in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
; and the Charles Guggenheim
Charles Guggenheim
Charles Guggenheim was an American film director and producer.- Early life :Guggenheim was born into a prominent German Jewish family in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was a furniture salesman. While studying farming at Colorado A&M in 1943, Guggenheim was drafted into the United States Army...
Emerging Artist Award at Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival
The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival is an annual international event dedicated to the theatrical exhibition of non-fiction cinema. Each spring Full Frame welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the world to historic downtown Durham, North Carolina for a four-day, morning to midnight...
in North Carolina.
He is currently co-editing Lixin Fan
Lixin Fan
Lixin Fan is a Montreal, Canada-based documentary film director with the Canadian production company EyeSteelFilm and previously a producer/journalist at China’s state broadcaster CCTV.Lixin's debut feature documentary Last Train Home won several awards...
’s Last Train Home
Last Train Home (film)
Last Train Home is a 2009 documentary film directed by Lixin Fan and produced by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin of EyeSteelFilm. Last Train Home won the Best Documentary Feature at 2009 IDFA and will be distributed by Zeitgeist Films in the US territory.-Synopsis:Every spring, China's cities are...
and developing his next feature documentary about the fruit underworld.
Director and screenwriter
- The Fish Market (2002)
- Earth to Mouth (2003)
- Up the YangtzeUp the YangtzeUp the Yangtze is a 2007 documentary film directed by Chinese-Canadian director Yung Chang. The film focuses on people affected by the building of the Three Gorges Dam across the Yangtze river in Hubei, China. The theme of the film is the transition towards consumer capitalism from a farming,...
(2007)
Screenings and awards
| Festival | Award | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Genie Awards | Best Documentary | 2009 |
| Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards The Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards is a film festival and awards ceremony held annually in Taiwan. It was founded in 1962, by Government Information Office, Republic of China... |
Best Documentary | 2008 |
| Sundance Film Festival Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new... |
Official Selection | 2008 |
| Vancouver International Film Festival Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October... |
Best Canadian Documentary | 2008 |
| San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco International Film Festival San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries... |
Best Feature Documentary | 2008 |
| Independent Spirit Awards Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards , founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass pyramids containing suspended shoestrings representing the paltry budgets of independent films. In 1986, the event was renamed the Independent Spirit... |
Best Documentary | 2009 |