Cathy Yan is a Chinese-born American film director. She made her studio debut with the film Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey.
Let’s dive into some trivia and facts about her life and career thus far.
- Cathy 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)
- Birds of Prey is the eighth installment of the DC Extended Universe
- Yan was born in China
- She was raised in Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C
- She moved to Hong Kong when she was 14 years old
- She received her BA from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 2008
- She graduated with an MBA in general management from New York University Stern School of Business
- And an MFA in producing from New York University Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Film Program in 2016
- Yan worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and Wall Street Journal in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing before turning to filmmaking
- After writing and directing several short films, Yan made her feature debut with Dead Pigs (2018)
- The film was inspired by the 2013 Huangpu River dead pigs incident
- In this incident 16,000 dead pigs were found floating down the Huangpu River
- Funded by Chinese investors, Yan shot the dark comedy in Shanghai with a bilingual crew then completed the film in New York
- “Sixth Generation” filmmaker Jia Zhangke executive produced it
- Dead Pigs premiered at the Sundance Film Festival
- It won a Special Jury Award for ensemble acting
- In April 2018, Yan was selected to direct the Harley Quinn DC Extended Universe superhero film Birds of Prey
- The film is based on the comic of the same name
- The film was released on February 7, 2020 with positive reviews
- Margot Robbie starred and co-produced
- Christina Hodson wrote the script
- Yan was the second woman and the first Asian woman to direct a DC film
- Or any US superhero film
- As of January 2020, Yan is working on the Sour Hearts film for A24
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