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BIOGRAPHY

Originally from Taiwan, Yung-Jen Yang is a narrative filmmaker with a love for directing horror and thriller films. He has been dedicated to horror films since childhood to prove one concept. "Some people say that horror movies are nothing but using bloody scenes and sound effects to scare the audience."he said, "My dream is to prove those ideas wrong. More than just scaring people, horror movies can portray humanity and social issues." He recently finished his first feature thriller "Locked alone", which was screened at Film Society of Lincoln Center and Queens Museum. The film "The Daydreaming Bunny" that Yung-Jen directed was official selected by COMCAST on demand in the program of "Coming of age and spotlight on Taiwanese cinema" and CAAM Film Fest 2016. His another work "Sweet Sixteen" received best thriller awards in Winter Film Awards 2015, Asian on Film Festival 2015, and LA Thriller Film Festival 2014. 

 

After receiving his Bachelors of Art from Shih Hsin University in Taipei, he worked in many facets of productions, such as directing, filming, gaffering, and editing. The productions he has been involved in are short films, documentaries, music videos, and commercials. His vision and passion toward independent films make him want to widen his horizon. So he decided to come to America to pursue his MFA from City College of New York. Since then, he has been enjoying works with multinational teams and participating in all kinds of productions. He has traveled all around the United States and Mexico embracing new cultures. 

In new future, he's goal involving gathering more resources and fulfilling his visions as director. 

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AWARDS / ACHIEVEMENTS

2019                 Sunrise/Sunset - Indie Feature Film (Cinematographer)

                         BAMcinemaFest 2019

                         San Diego Asian Film Festival 2019

                         Filmmaker Magazine “The 50 Most Anticipated American Films of 2019”

                         Positive Reviews on Filmmaker Magazine, IndieWire, Artforum, The Film Stage, Hammer to Nail

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2018                  Locked Alone - Indie Horror Feature Film (Director, Producer, Editor)

                          Communal Nightmares Competition -  Finalist/ Seed&Spark

                          Present at Queens Museum & Film Society of Lincoln Center

                          Best Thriller, Best Performance Award, Northern Ireland Yellow Fever Indie Film Festival 2019

                          Best Feature Film, Australia Independent Film Festival 2019

                          Infierno en los Andes Fest 2019 at Peru

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2016                  Short Film: Study Abroad 2: The Daydreaming Bunny – 21 minutes; Color, HD

                          COMCAST on demand 09.2017: Coming of age and spotlight on Taiwanese cinema

                          Best Web Series, Winter Film Awards Film Festival 2016

                          Official Selection: CAAM Film Festival 2016

 

2014                  Short Film: Sweet Sixteen – 9 minutes; Color, HD

                          Excellence in Editing, Fiction, Cityvisions 2014

                          Best Horror Film, Winter Film Awards 2015

                          Official Selection: Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, LA Thriller Film Festival

 

2014                  Most Original Award, Asian American Film Lab 72 Hours Film Shootout                             

                          Short film: My Hair is Not Black - 5 minutes; color; HD (Cinematographer)

 

2014                  Most Valuable Person Award, Cityvisions 2014                                

                          (1 per year voted by all MFA candidates)

WORK EXPERIENCE

Director

 

08/2014         MingPao Daily News Project                                                                                        

- Current        Director/ Cinematographer/ Editor

 

05/2013         Study Abroad           Director/ Cinematographer/ Editor                     (Drama, 30 minutes, color, HD, Manhattan NY)

– 12/2014     

 

11/2014           Yearning                 Director/ Editor                                                  (Drama, 4 minutes, color, HD, Queens NY)

 

06/2014         Sweet Sixteen         Director/Writer/ Editor                                       (Thriller/ Horror, 9 minutes, color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

09/2013         Long Vacation          Director/Writer/ Editor                                       (Thriller, 2 minutes, color, HD, Queens NY)

 

05/2013          Night Duty               Director/Writer/ Editor                                      (Thriller/ Horror, 3 minutes, color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

11/2012           Ouija Board              Director/Writer/ Editor                                       (Thriller, 3 minutes, color, HD, Brooklyn NY)

 

06/2012         The Last Words        Director/ Writer/ Cinematographer/ Editor         (Thriller/ Horror, 7 minutes, color, HD, Taipei Taiwan)

 

09/2009        Northern Coastal Patrol Office’s, Coast Guard Administration              (Documentary, 6 episodes, color, HD, Yilan Taiwan)

– 07/2010      Director/ Writer/ Cinematographer/ Editor

                                                             

06/2009        The Trap                   Director/Writer/ Editor                                       (Thriller/ Horror, 20 minutes, color, 16 mm, Taipei Taiwan)

 

06/2009        Jerry                         Director/Writer/ Editor                                       (Thriller/ Horror, 3 minutes, color, 16 mm, Taipei Taiwan)

 

 

Cinematographer / Assistant Camera

 

11/2014            In Between - Directed by Kanchalee Wijakpaisarn

                       1st Assistant Camera (Black Magic Pocket) (Color, HD, NJ)

 

11/2014            Mentors’ interviews - ChampAmerican

                       Cinematographer (5D2) (Color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

10/2014           New Temple Construction Ceremony - Dharma Drum Mountain

                       2nd Cameraman (5D2) (Color, HD, South NY)

 

10/2014           North - Directed by Natasha Soto

                       1st Assistant Camera (Sonny A7S/ 5D3) (Color, HD, Ringwood NJ)

 

10/2014           Taipei Mayor Ko, Wen-je New York Trip - Directed by Shao-Che Lee

                       2st Cameraman (Cannon 7D) (Color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

09/2014          Write With Me - Directed by Hannah Leshaw

                       1st Assistant Camera (Black Magic Pocket) (Color, HD, Bronx NY)

 

09/2014          Al-Jazeera English Interview - People’s Television, Inc.

                       1st Assistant Camera (F5) (Color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

09/2014          Oxford press shoot in The City College of New York - People’s Television, Inc.

                       1st Assistant Camera (F5) - (Color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

08/2014          Campaign Music Videos - Feed the Arts.com

                       Cinematographer (5D2) / Editor (Color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

08/2014          CareerTu Promote Video - CareerTu

                       Cinematographer (5D2) / Editor (5 minutes, Color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

08/2014          Gloria Starr Kinns Interview - Club Takao TV

                       Cinematographer (5D2)                                                                    

 

07/2014          Going Up â€“ Directed by Taso Zoitas

                       1st Assistant Camera (C300) (color, HD, Astoria NY)

 

07/2014          The Boardwalk – Directed by Ougie Pak

                       1st Assistant Camera (5D3) (color, HD, Atlantic City NJ)

 

07/2014          A day story – Music Video Directed by Eunseok Choi

                       Cinematographer (HMC150)/ Steadicam (7 minutes, color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

07/2014          Someday. For you – Music Video Directed by Youngki Jin

                       Cinematographer (5D) (5 minutes, color, HD, Brooklyn NY)

 

06/2014          My hair is not black -72 hours film shootout Directed by Eunseok Choi

                       Cinematographer (5D) (5 minutes, color, HD, Flushing NY)

 

06/2014          Everyday Food with Sarah Carey - Martha Stewart web series Produced by Jim Brennan

                       1st Assistant Camera (C300) (7 episodes, color, HD, Manhattan NY)

 

06/2014          John Jay Medal For Justice 2014 (Elie Wiesel) - Event recording Filmed by Warut Snidvongs

                       2nd Camera Operator (HMC 150)

 

05/2014          Day - Directed by Sabrina Colie

                       1st Assistant Camera (Arri Alexa) (15 minutes, color, HD, Colgate NY)

 

02/2014          A Saturday Morning - Directed by Roberto Collado

                       1st Assistant Camera (Arri 416 Film Camera) (14 minutes, color, 16 mm, Victoria Mexico)

 

01/2014           Sunnyside - Directed by Youngki Jin

                        Assistant Camera (Black magic) / Gaffer (13 minutes, HD, Queens New York)

 

01/2014           Fate of a Fruit - Directed by Sarah Kim

                       1st Assistant Camera (Arri Alexa) (6 minutes, color, HD, Flushing NY)

 

12/2013           The Brothers Texas - Directed by Ashton Pina

                       1st Assistant Camera (Arriflex D-21) / Gaffer (15 minutes, color, HD, Harlem NY)

 

11/2012            New York MIX FESTIVAL Trailer 2012 - Filmed by Niknaz

                       Assistant Camera (Bolex) (2 minutes, color, 16 mm, Brooklyn NY)

 

01/2011           "Home in Two Cities" Documentary Backstage Studio - Directed by Li-chou Yang

                       Assistant Camera (DSLR Camera) (55 minutes, color, HD, Taipei Taiwan)

 

08/2010          National Taiwan University of Arts’ Playaround Workshop - Event recording

                       Camera Operator (Color, HD, Taipei Taiwan)

 

04/2008         Rocker & Rapper Music Video "Channy" - Directed by Hao-zhou Qiu

                       Assistant Camera (Bolex) / Gaffer (3 minutes, color, 16 mm, Taipei Taiwan)

 

01/2008          Get A Life - Directed by Ven Chang

                       1st Assistant Camera (Arri SR3 Film Camera) (20 minutes, color, 16 mm, Taipei Taiwan)

 

Gaffer

 

03/2014         The Coup - Directed by Piruz Alemi

                      Gaffer  (20 minutes, color, HD, Manhatta NY)

 

01/2014          January 30th - Directed by Felicia Bradford

                      Gaffer  (15 minutes, color, HD, Harlem NY)

 

06/2009        Jam Hsiao’s Music Video - Warner Music Taiwan Produecd by Sanshu Xu

                      Key Grip  (4 minutes, color, HD, Taipei Taiwan)

 

09/2007        Kodak Cinematographer’s Workshop - Directed by Ven Chang

                      Best Boy  (8 minutes, color, 16 mm, Taipei Taiwan)

 

08/2007        Intoxicant - Directed by John Hsu

                      Grip  (25 minutes, color, 35 mm, Taipei Taiwan)

 

07/2007        Landy Wen’s Music Video - Seed Music Taiwan  Directed by Weikang Lai

                      Grip   (2 minutes, color, HD, Taipei Taiwan)

 

Other

 

10/2014          Memorial of Master Shen Yen - Dharma Drum Mountain

                      Associate Producer (Color, HD, Queens NY)

 

05/2014         Picnic- National Board of Review Award (The Best Fiction)  Directed by Fan He

                      Editor  (13 minutes, color, HD, Manhatta NY)

 

07/2012         LED (Taiwanese Government Funds) Backstage Studio - Directed by Yuki Chu

                      Script Supervisor   (23 minutes, color, HD, Manhatta NY)

 

03/2008        Publicity Film for the Center of General Education - Produecd by Shih Hsin University

                      Boom Operator   (10 minutes, color, HD, Taipei Taiwan)

EDUCATION

09/2012           THE CITY COLLEGE OF NEW YORK              New York, NY

 â€“ 06/2014       Master of Fine Arts’ Degree, Department of Media Arts Production

 

09/2005          SHIH HSIN UNIVERSITY            Taipei, Taiwan

– 06/2009       Bachelor’s Degree, Department of Radio, TV & Film

 

KEY SKILLS

Camera: Experienced focus puller. Highly skilled at SR film cameras, Bolex, Arri Alexa, DSLR, and other digital cameras.

Filmmaking: Proficient in directing, writing, lighting, and editing.

Software and Computer: Final Cut Pro, Premiere, Color, After Effects; Mac OS X, Windows OS, Microsoft Office

Language: Native in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese; fluent in English (speaking, writing, and interpreting)

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