Life & Work with Zoe Zheng

Today we’d like to introduce you to Zoe Zheng.

Hi Zoe, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today. 
How I got to where I am today boils down to a passion for making my life difficult, plus an interest in art. 

Hi, I am Zoe, a multi-disciplinary designer and award-winning animation director with experience in storytelling, social media, XR, and marketing. 

I was born and raised in Guangzhou, the birthplace of the best food on Earth. But when I was 14, wanting to see a larger world, I moved to the UK on my own to study there. As a shy and quirky Asian girl who didn’t speak English well, it took me years to get used to it. By the time I was 17, after countless efforts and many embarrassing moments, I finally fell in love with living in Oxford. Then, the next year, I decided to move to a new continent. 

Because during college applications, I was saying random nonsense to interviewers and still got into some of the best programs in the UK. But I put a lot of thoughts, energy, and love into my US applications and got rejected by most of them. I was like what is this United States, playing hard-to-get? Well, now I really am interested. 

So, when USC offered me a spot somehow, I held on to it and did everything I could to transfer into the world-class Film School, getting a place in the animation program I dreamed of. 

Since making animated films, I’ve been mostly making experimental and design-oriented pieces. They were quite successful, being screened at venues like the Walt Disney Family Museum. And one day, I got a little funding and mentorship to make a film I loved and was hoping it would help with my visa, so I don’t get deported, then suddenly for the first time in my life, I decided to make a narrative film. And by the way, I was quite a bad writer. 

Because it was in 2022 when generative AI programs like Midjourney were first released. Stunned by the outputs, predicting skills would not be as important as ideas and creativity, I decided to make a 180-degree turn to focus on idea delivery while exploring a new style of storytelling. 

What She Didn’t Know, my debut narrative film, is about a colorblind girl sees colors through learning the piano, inspired by a personal experience. It was made under a thousand dollars with a production team of one person (myself). I am proud it’s been competing and screening at international festivals, ranging from the Palermo International Film Festival and Athens ANIMFEST to the DC Shorts Film Festival. Here is the trailer: https://www.zoe-zheng.com/work/whatshedidntknow

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
No, smooth roads give me existential crises. Creating What She Didn’t Know was knowing it was difficult from the start and not giving up. As a perfectionist with an obsessive personality who also sucked at storyboarding, I kept revising and revising. My team and mentors were like, Zoe stop revising and get on with the production. I was like, nah. So, I kept making edits all the way till a few weeks before screening, leaving very little time for production. But in hindsight, I am happy that’s how I spent the time because I like the simplicity and rawness of the style growing on the deeply thoughtful story underneath. 

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am happy I tortured myself with What She Didn’t Know because now, on top of being a skilled designer, I am now also a fascinating storyteller with a distinct point of view. Here is another storyboard of mine, based on the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill but reimagined as a medieval fantasy psychological thriller: https://www.zoe-zheng.com/story/jackandjillreimagined

We love surprises, fun facts, and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I never wanted to be an artist when I was smaller. I always thought I would be a scientist or a biologist until it was college application time, and I realized, oh, I am not good at sciences. But having multi-disciplinary interests really helps with my art career. It helps me become a better learner through figuring out things in unrelated fields, and it helps me pick things up quicker and see things clearer when I go back to design and filmmaking. For example, What She Didn’t Know is inspired by my experience with the piano. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zoe-zheng.com/
• Instagram: @nine.of.zoe
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/zoe-zheng-66081b208