Today we’d like to introduce you to Shicong Zhu.
Hi Shicong, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I am a filmmaker based in Los Angeles and China. Born and raised in Beijing, I moved to L.A. for college almost eight years ago when I was a teenager. I worked as a fine art photographer for five years. I obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and then I attended U.S.C. School of Cinematic Arts and received a M.F.A. degree in Film & Television Production. Now I focus on narrative directing & writing. I also make still and moving images for non-narrative and/or experimental contents.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
As a minority writer/director, I think some of my biggest struggles are the frequent self-censor and self-correct under a “Hollywood white gaze.” Other than that, as a young adult and a member of the Chinese diaspora, I always have homesickness. It sometimes fuels the nostalgic feelings in my works. Still, it is an excruciating and elongated melancholic feeling towards a time and space I can never go back to.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am naturally drawn to the perspectives and human condition of women and children of color. My short film Anchor Baby, following a day in the life of a pregnant illegal immigrant working in an L.A. nail salon, received the honor of official selection by Beverly Hills International Film Festival and screened at TCL Chinese Theater. My thesis film Snake Trail, about an illegitimate daughter urged to complete the traditional Chinese death ritual for her mother, has been officially selected by the Oscar-eligible Foyle Film Festival, as well as Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival and North America Chinese Directors Tour. I am also an honoree and recipient of the 2020 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Grant. Working with the foundation, I am lucky enough to be sponsored to direct my original narrative script. It is about a family that lost their daughter without saying goodbye, tries to have closure with the help of A.I. and machine learning technology. Other topics I’m interested in includes: childhood woes, social-media induced body dysmorphia, ethical implications of machine learning, interactive media, gender, Chinese pagan beliefs and practices.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
As a female BIPOC writer/director, the most important lesson I’ve learned is always finding collaborators who respect my vision and perspectives.
Contact Info:
- Website: shicongzhu.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yibashicong/?hl=en
- Other: (Snake Trial official Trailer) https://vimeo.com/476115579
