This is my dear friend and Chinese director, Wang Ying, without his invaluable help over the years there is no way I could have ever navigated the sometimes hard times in China.
We both came from Canada to work at the film school in Qingdao and mentored many students, who are now our friends. We still collaborate on many projects and the passion for filmmaking never dries up! Ying is very interested in ethnographic work and the Chinese migratory stories of Canada. |
China: Pre-Production 2021 - Finally nearly finished! |
Waiting for my Brain a video-diary documentary about life, faith and trust As the only non - Chinese patient to have an Acoustic Neuroma brain tumour successfully removed, in Qilu Hospital, Shandong, China, trust, belief and love were essential ingredients, bypassing culture, language and tradition |
2019 - 2020 - The Sea Hut
中国高等院校影视学会第十九届年会
CHINESE UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATION FOR TV AND VISUAL ART 19th Annual Conference
Beijing Academy Awards for Documentary. First Prize for Innovation and First Prize for Sound Design
China Documentary Awards for Academia. First Prize
I am so honoured to win first prize for best documentary this weekend, 2nd November 2019, in Jinan, Shandong province, for my latest film, The Sea Hut, a documentary on my mother and her Chinese nanny, set in Shanghai, 1935.
Wow! I'm taken aback.
I have to add, without help from my dear old mama who told me her story over two years, Wang Ying, my colleague, some of my students, my school, the BFAMCMC, and the fishing village down the road, well it would not have happened. A film is always teamwork.
This annual event is a transnational Chinese collegial association event for visual art and academia. Comprised of Chinese scholars, thinkers, writers, artists, professors and graduate students, it rates as one of the most respected meetings in China. (Just had to put all that in.) So . . . I was blown away, and nervous. I did not say all I wanted, you can see in the video. . . But hey! I am still getting over a major brain surgery and feeling so grateful.
The Sea Hut is now officially on its way.
China Documentary Awards for Academia. First Prize
I am so honoured to win first prize for best documentary this weekend, 2nd November 2019, in Jinan, Shandong province, for my latest film, The Sea Hut, a documentary on my mother and her Chinese nanny, set in Shanghai, 1935.
Wow! I'm taken aback.
I have to add, without help from my dear old mama who told me her story over two years, Wang Ying, my colleague, some of my students, my school, the BFAMCMC, and the fishing village down the road, well it would not have happened. A film is always teamwork.
This annual event is a transnational Chinese collegial association event for visual art and academia. Comprised of Chinese scholars, thinkers, writers, artists, professors and graduate students, it rates as one of the most respected meetings in China. (Just had to put all that in.) So . . . I was blown away, and nervous. I did not say all I wanted, you can see in the video. . . But hey! I am still getting over a major brain surgery and feeling so grateful.
The Sea Hut is now officially on its way.

2018
The HISFF International Short Film Festival Jury, Beijing
Festival du court métrage - Le HISFF international - Jury - Pékin
It was a great honour and fun to be part of the jury choosing 5 finalists for the HUA film festival. The list of nominated films will be announced in mid-November, and the list will be finalized by the final jury led by the rotating chairman of 2018HISFF, Zhang Yang. The famous South Korean director Lee Chang-Dong has accepted to be this year's HISFF final jury.
C'était mon grand honneur de faire partie du jury en choisissant 5 finalistes pour le Festival du film de HUA. La liste des films proposés sera annoncée à la mi-novembre, et la liste sera finalisée par le jury final dirigé par le Président Zhang Yang. Le célèbre réalisateur sud-coréen Lee Chang-dong a accepté le jury final de cette année HISFF.
Chang He (Left)
Ren Changzhen (Right)
Ren Changzhen was director of
CCTV’s People program between 2000 and 2005,
The Blue Book of Film 2018-2021 -
proofreading and editing
Wang Ying and I - had the honor to work with the Management Department of the BFA – Beijing Film Academy, Qingdao Campus - over six months, helping with the proofs and translation. We are extremely proud, and have been invited to join the team yearly to revise and update the statistics on the Chinese film market.
The global film industry has witnessed significant transformations in the past few years. Regions outside the USA have begun to prosper while non-traditional production companies such as Netflix have assumed a larger market share and online movies adapted from literature have continued to gain in popularity. How have these trends shaped the global film industry? This book answers this question by analyzing an increasingly globalized business through a global lens. (Routledge - 2021) |
The Blue Book of Film, an ambitious project which has been in the making for the past five years with over 17 writers and academics contributing, has been approved by UNESCO and printed in two languages – English and Chinese
Qingdao is officially one of the 180 cultural cities which are a part of UNESCO'S CREATIVE CITY NETWORK bringing together seven disciplines: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts and Music. “To foster innovation and creativity as key drivers for a more sustainable and inclusive urban development.” Director General, Irina Bokova |
2017 - 2018 Mentoring
I am delighted that three of the films which I mentored recently have done really well, receiving awards here in China and outside. Especially for Tao Gu, my dear friend and extremely talented filmmaker. His film Taming the Horse is on a non-stop tour, and is the hottest indie film in China at the moment, going from festival to festival.
Grand Prize for Best Canadian Feature - RIDM Montreal, International Feature Competition - Visions du Réel Nyon, Taming the Horse - a film by Tao Gu, Montgolfière d'Or - Festival des Trois Continents
Zou Qialing, Award for Excellence 2018, Shandong Short Film Festival, Documentary Mentor
The Builder - 30 minutes documentary
The Builder - 30 minutes documentary
Jeanne Pope, Award of Excellence for Mentoring Work, Nanjing Film Festival, 2018
Zhang LuKun First Prize Documentary Section LIGHTSTAR AWARDS 2018 BFAMCMC CHINA
My Grandparents – 30 minutes documentary
2017 - Tao Gu wins prestigious 3 Continents Film Festival, Golden Air Ballon 2017, for
Taming the Horse, Xun Ma
I am so proud of you my dear, dear friend, of your determination and vision, and so proud to have been a part of this wonderful documentary