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Cathy Yan        

Filmmaker & Director of "Birds Of Prey;" First Asian Woman to Direct a U.S. Superhero Film

Cathy Yan is a filmmaker and director known for directing Birds of Prey, starring Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn. Yan was the second woman and the first Asian woman to direct a DC film or any US superhero film.

Yan was born in China and raised between Hong Kong and New York City. Today, she is based in New York. She received a dual MFA in film and an MBA at New York University, as well as a BA from Princeton University. Before switching to filmmaking, she was a reporter for the Wall Street Journal in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Her first feature film, 2018's comedy-drama Dead Pigs, won the Special Jury Prize for ensemble acting at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the Grand Jury Prize at Dallas Film Festival, the New Director's Grand Jury Prize and China Star's Best First Feature at Seattle Film Festival and the San Francisco Film Critic's Award at CAAMFest, among others.

In February 2021, Yan started developing an adaptation of Rachel Khong's short story, The Freshening.

News


'Dead Pigs' Director Cathy Yan On How Filmmaking & Reporting Are ...
First-time feature director Cathy Yan is on hand at the Sundance Film Festival with her project, Dead Pigs. The pic is set in modern China, between Shanghai ...
Cathy Yan Direct Next Harley Quinn Film With Margot Robbie for WB ...
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros and DC Entertainment have chosen Cathy Yan to be the director of an untitled girl gang movie, likely the next superhero film to be ...

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