Lulu Wang (filmmaker) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lulu Wang
Wang in 2024
Born	(1983-02-25) February 25, 1983 (age 42) Beijing, China
Education	New World School of the Arts
Alma mater	Boston College
Occupation	Film director screenwriter producer
Years active	2005–present
Spouse(s)	Barry Jenkins ​ (m. 2024)​

Lulu Wang (Chinese: 王子逸; pinyin: Wáng Zǐyì) is a talented American filmmaker. She was born in China on February 25, 1983. Lulu Wang is famous for writing and directing movies like Posthumous (2014) and The Farewell (2019).

The Farewell was a big success. It was named one of the top ten films of 2019. Wang also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film for it. Besides feature films, she has made short films, documentaries, and music videos.

Early Life and Education

Lulu Wang was born in Beijing, China. Her father, Haiyan Wang, was a diplomat. Her mother, Jian Yu, was a cultural critic. Lulu has a younger brother named Anthony.

When she was six, her family moved to Miami, USA. Her father was studying at the University of Miami. Lulu lived in Beijing and briefly with her grandmother in Changchun before moving.

A Young Musician

Lulu started playing the piano at age four. Her parents hoped she would become a professional pianist. Her mother even took her to a church to practice before they bought a piano. However, Lulu decided not to pursue music as a career.

Discovering Filmmaking

From 2001 to 2005, Lulu studied music and literature at Boston College. She graduated with degrees in both subjects. In her last year of college, she watched the 2002 film Secretary. This movie inspired her to become a filmmaker.

She took film production classes in college. She also made several short films during that time. After learning about filmmaking, Wang moved to Hollywood in 2007. She wanted to focus on writing and directing movies.

Career Highlights

Early Filmmaking Work

Lulu Wang's first filmmaking projects were unique. She created short "day in the life" videos for legal firms. These videos showed the daily struggles of injured people. They were used in court cases to help explain their situations.

In 2005, while still a student, Wang won an award for her film Storyteller. The next year, she won Best Picture for her short film Pisces. She also worked on a documentary called Fishing the Gulf in 2006. In 2007, she made the short film Can-Can.

Posthumous and Growing Success

In 2008, Lulu Wang moved to Los Angeles. She met Bernadette Bürgi, and they decided to make films together. They started their own company, Flying Box Productions. Wang directed many web shorts and music videos.

In 2014, she directed her first full-length movie, Posthumous. This film was set in Berlin, Germany. It starred Brit Marling and Jack Huston. Wang wrote a special letter to Jack Huston to convince him to join the film. Posthumous was shown at the Zurich Film Festival in 2014. It also played at the Miami International Film Festival.

Wang at the Miami International Film Festival in 2015

In 2014, Wang received a special fellowship from the Film Independent Spirit Awards. Her 2015 short film Touch was also very successful. It won Best Drama at the Asians on Film Festival.

The Farewell and Major Acclaim

In 2016, Lulu Wang shared a story called "What You Don't Know" on the radio show This American Life. This story became the basis for her next big film.

In January 2019, her second feature film, The Farewell, premiered. It was shown at the Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the story of Billi, a New York City artist played by Awkwafina. Billi travels to China to visit her dying grandmother, Nai Nai. The family decides to keep Nai Nai's illness a secret from her. They pretend there's a wedding to bring everyone together.

Wang based The Farewell on her own family's experience. The movie even opens with a title card that says Based on an actual lie. Most of the film is in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles. It was filmed in the neighborhood where Wang's grandmother lived. Wang even cast her real great aunt, Lu Hong, to play herself in the movie.

The Farewell received amazing reviews after its premiere. Critics praised it as a standout film. Lulu Wang faced challenges getting the movie made. Some people wanted her to add a white character or change the story to a comedy. But Wang refused to "whitewash" her film. She wanted to keep it true to her family's story.

The film has a very high rating on Rotten Tomatoes. In January 2019, Variety magazine named Wang one of "Directors to Watch." The Farewell opened in US theaters on July 12, 2019. It earned a lot of money in its first weekend.

On December 4, 2019, the American Film Institute named The Farewell one of the top ten films of the year. Awkwafina won a Golden Globe Award for her role as Billi. On February 8, 2020, The Farewell won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature. When Wang accepted the award, she spoke about the need for more female directors in the film industry.

In January 2021, Apple released a short film called Nian. Lulu Wang wrote and directed it to celebrate the Chinese New Year. This short film was shot entirely using an iPhone 12 Pro Max.

Wang's next project is a film based on a science fiction book. It is called Children of the New World. She has said this project will explore questions about family. She also launched a production company called Local Time Productions.

Personal Life

Lulu Wang speaks English and Mandarin Chinese fluently. She also knows some Spanish. She started dating fellow filmmaker Barry Jenkins in 2018. They were married in December 2024.

Filmmaking Style

Influences and Approach

For The Farewell, Lulu Wang's main influences were her own family. She wanted to show the real experience of an Asian immigrant family. She asked her father to read the script to make sure it felt authentic. She wanted to know if it truly represented everyone.

When making The Farewell, Wang acted like a journalist. She interviewed her family members. She wanted to understand their feelings about keeping the secret from Nai Nai. She also explored the idea of being from two cultures. Her family even gave her feedback during filming. Her real great aunt, Lu Hong, played herself in the movie. This helped make the film feel very real and emotional.

Collaborations

Lulu Wang is working on a new series for Amazon called “Expats”. She is collaborating with producer and actress Nicole Kidman. The series is based on a novel called The Expatriates. It tells the story of three American women in Hong Kong. They form a strong bond after a sad event. Wang says the series looks at different kinds of privilege.

Favorite Films

In a 2022 poll, Lulu Wang shared her ten favorite films:

• Yi Yi (1999)
• The Apartment (1960)
• Playtime (1967)
• Nights of Cabiria (1957)
• Viridiana (1961)
• Chungking Express (1994)
• Tokyo Story (1953)
• Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
• The Conversation (1974)
• Vagabond (1985)

Filmography

Film

Short film

Feature film

Television

Music videos

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Lulu Wang (cineasta) para niños

• List of Boston College people