{{short description|American filmmaker (born 1986)}} {{Infobox person | name = Cathy Yan | image = Cathy Yan, January 2020.jpg | caption = Yan in 2020 at the ''Birds of Prey'' London Launch Party | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1986}} | birth_place = China | alma_mater = {{ubl|Princeton University|New York University}} | occupation = Filmmaker | years_active = 2010–present | module = {{Infobox Chinese |title = Cathy Yan |child = yes |order=st |s = 阎羽茜 |t = {{linktext|閻|羽|茜}} |p = Yán Yǔxi }} }} '''Cathy Yan Yuxi''' ({{zh|s=阎羽茜|p= Yán Yǔxi}}; born 1986) 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), the eighth installment of the DC Extended Universe.
==Early life and education== Yan was born in China and raised in Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C. While her family was living in China, Yan's father was given a visa to study sociology in the U.S. Two years later her mother left for America, and Yan remained in China with her grandparents. At age four she was reunited with her parents in America.<ref name=":1"/>
As a child, Yan grew up with various creative outlets courtesy of her relatives and "deeply creative father".<ref name=":2">{{Cite news|last=Canva|first=Michael|date=February 5, 2020|title=Cathy Yan's rapid rise from journalist to 'Birds of Prey' director: 'I didn't think you could do this professionally'|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2020/02/05/cathy-yan-birds-of-prey-harley-quinn/|access-date=February 6, 2020}}</ref> By age 8, Yan was carrying around a video camera, eager to express herself through art and through dancing as a choreographer.<ref name=":2"/> She moved to Hong Kong when she was fourteen years old,<ref name=":2"/> where she attended high school.<ref name=":1"/>
She graduated with an A.B. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 2008 and later graduated in 2016 from New York University's MBA/MFA dual degree program, where she studied at both the Stern School of Business and the Tisch School of the Arts.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Teodorczuk|first1=Tom|title=Sundance award-winning director Cathy Yan on shunning Hollywood for China with her debut movie 'Dead Pigs'|url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/sundance-award-winning-director-cathy-yan-on-shunning-hollywood-for-china-with-her-debut-movie-dead-pigs-2018-01-30|access-date=17 July 2018|work=MarketWatch|date=2018|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Tisch at Sundance - 2018 Sundance - Premieres|url=https://tisch.nyu.edu/alumni/tisch-at-sundance/2018-sundance/premieres|access-date=17 July 2018|work=Tisch School of the Arts|date=2018|language=en}}</ref><ref name="NYU-Tisch-CathyYan"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://tisch.nyu.edu/mba-mfa|title=NYU MBA/MFA Dual Degree|website=tisch.nyu.edu|language=en|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref>
==Career== Yan worked as a reporter for the ''Los Angeles Times'' and ''The Wall Street Journal''<ref name="Rife 2018"/> in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing before turning to filmmaking.<ref name=NYU-Tisch-CathyYan>{{cite web|title=Cathy Yan|url=https://tisch.nyu.edu/mba-mfa/students/cathy-yan|website=Tisch School of the Arts|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref>
After writing and directing several short films, Yan also shot a web-series and content for brands such as Armani, Subway, Spotify and The Innocence Project.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cathy Yan|url=https://tisch.nyu.edu/mba-mfa/students/cathy-yan|access-date=2021-12-05|website=tisch.nyu.edu|language=en}}</ref> By 2018, Yan made her feature debut with ''Dead Pigs''.<ref name=":1">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/09/cathy-yans-accidental-movie-career|title=Cathy Yan's Accidental Movie Career|last=Schwartz|first=Alexandra|magazine=The New Yorker|date=29 February 2020 |language=en|access-date=2020-03-16}}</ref> The film was inspired by the 2013 Huangpu River dead pigs incident, in which 16,000 dead pigs were found floating down the Huangpu River.<ref name="Rife 2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/meet-cathy-yan-the-woman-hired-to-direct-dcs-next-harl-1825325684|title=Meet Cathy Yan, the woman hired to direct DC's next Harley Quinn movie|last=Rife|first=Katie|date=April 17, 2018|work=The A.V. Club|access-date=2018-05-03|language=en-US}}</ref> Funded by Chinese investors, Yan shot the dark comedy in Shanghai with a bilingual crew then completed the film in New York; director Jia Zhangke executive produced.<ref name="Rife 2018"/> ''Dead Pigs'' premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won a Special Jury Award for ensemble acting.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Kiang|first1=Jessica|title=Sundance Film Review: 'Dead Pigs'|url=https://variety.com/2018/film/reviews/dead-pigs-review-1202675664/|access-date=17 April 2018|work=Variety|date=25 January 2018}}</ref> Yan removed 12 minutes from the film in its wider February 2021 release on the streaming platform Mubi.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Giroux|first=Jack|date=2021-02-12|title=Cathy Yan Interview: Dead Pigs, Birds of Prey, and More|url=https://www.slashfilm.com/579198/cathy-yan-interview-dead-pigs/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=SlashFilm.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
In April 2018, Yan was selected to direct the Harley Quinn DC Extended Universe superhero film ''Birds of Prey'', based on the comic of the same name. The film was released on February 7, 2020 to positive reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/birds-prey-movie-open-2020-1146570|title=Margot Robbie's 'Birds of Prey' Gets 2020 Release Date confirmed|last=Couch|first=Aaron|date=September 24, 2018|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=September 24, 2018}}</ref> Margot Robbie starred and co-produced and Christina Hodson wrote the script.<ref name="Rife 2018"/> Yan was the second woman and the first Asian woman to direct a DC film (or any US superhero film).<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fleming|first1=Mike Jr|title=Cathy Yan Is Warner Bros' Choice To Direct Margot Robbie In Next Harley Quinn Film|url=https://deadline.com/2018/04/harley-quinn-margot-robbie-cathy-yan-birds-of-prey-warner-bros-dc-entertainment-bat-girl-christina-hodson-1202365866/|access-date=17 April 2018|work=Deadline|date=17 April 2018}}</ref>
{{As of|January 2020}}, Yan is working on directing and producing A24's<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2020/film/features/birds-of-prey-director-cathy-yan-1203482723/|title='Birds of Prey' Director Cathy Yan Reveals the Crucial Advice Patty Jenkins Gave Her|last=Vary|first=Adam B.|date=2020-01-28|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-02-06}}</ref> film adaptation of ''Sour Heart'', a collection of short stories by Jenny Zhang. Yan will co-write the script alongside Zhang for the autobiographical coming-of-age story about the immigrant experience of a young girl who moved from Shanghai to New York in the 90s.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cathy Yan|url=https://goldhouse.org/people/cathy-yan/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=Gold House|language=en}}</ref>
In February 2021, Yan started developing an adaptation of Rachel Khong's short story, ''The Freshening''. FilmNation Entertainment and Ali Wong were set to produce the feature, with Yan writing and directing.''<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lang|first=Brent|date=2021-02-05|title=Cathy Yan to Write, Direct Sci-Fi Comedy 'The Freshening' for FilmNation (EXCLUSIVE)|url=https://variety.com/2021/film/news/cathy-yan-birds-of-prey-the-freshening-1234901689/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210205212426/https://variety.com/2021/film/news/cathy-yan-birds-of-prey-the-freshening-1234901689/ |archive-date=2021-02-05 |access-date=2021-02-06|website=Variety|language=en-US}}</ref>''
In 2021, Yan directed an episode of the HBO drama series ''Succession'' called "The Disruption", in season three, episode three, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Cathy Yan|url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4014166/|access-date=2021-12-05|website=IMDb}}</ref>
== Styles and themes == Yan's cinematic influences include Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. Since Yan's father was a big fan of the nineties era of Chinese cinema, Yan expanded into East Asian art-house cinema, which included Wong Kar-wai.<ref name=":3"/> Including American cinema, Yan appreciates the works of Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson. Yan considers ''Dead Pigs'' as "a marriage of the American indie and classic Chinese indie tones she grew up with."<ref name=":3"/>
==Filmography== '''Short film''' {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! width=65 | Director ! width=65 | Writer ! width=65 | Producer |- | 2010 | ''Phishing'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} |- | 2013 | ''Last Night'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |- |rowspan=3|2014 | ''Dinosaur Rider'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} |- | ''Entropy'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} |- | ''Of Tooth and Time'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} |- | 2015 | ''Humpty'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} |- |rowspan=2|2016 | ''Down River'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |- | ''According to My Mother'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} | {{no}} |- | 2017 | ''Groomed'' | {{no}} | {{no}} | {{yes}} |- |}
'''Feature film''' {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! width=65 | Director ! width=65 | Writer |- | 2018 | ''Dead Pigs'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |- | 2020 | ''Birds of Prey'' | {{yes}} | {{no}} |- | 2026 | ''The Gallerist'' | {{yes}} | {{yes}} |}
'''Television''' {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Note |- | 2021 | ''Succession'' | Episode: "The Disruption" |}
==References== {{reflist}}
== Further reading == * Cathy Yan at [https://www.indiewire.com/2021/02/cathy-yan-dead-pigs-birds-of-prey-next-movie-1234616115/ ''IndieWire''] * Cathy Yan at [https://paw.princeton.edu/article/holy-cathy-yan ''Princeton Alumni Weekly''] * Cathy Yan at [https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/movies/cathy-yan-harley-quinn-birds-of-prey.html ''The New York Times'']
==External links== *{{IMDb name | 4014166}} *Cathy Yan at [https://film-grab.com/category/cathy-yan/ Film Grab] *Cathy Yan at [https://mubi.com/cast/cathy-yan Mubi]
{{authority control}} {{Cathy Yan|nocat=1}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Cathy}} Category:Living people Category:American women film directors Category:American women film producers Category:American women screenwriters Category:Chinese women film directors Category:Chinese film producers Category:Chinese screenwriters Category:American film directors of Chinese descent Category:Sundance Film Festival award winners Category:21st-century Chinese women writers Category:21st-century Chinese writers Category:21st-century American women writers Category:21st-century American screenwriters Category:1986 births