Movers and Shakers

Though initially enrolled in the San Francisco Art Institute to study painting, Hong Kong born Oscar winner Ruby Yang, came upon the artistic medium of short films. After graduating, she was caught up in the new Asian-American media movement. She worked as the film editor in many productions, including Xiu Xiu: The Sent-down Girl (1998), Autumn in New York (2000); and the Emmy nominated TV series, Becoming American: The Chinese Experience (2003). While working as a film editor, Ruby began to cultivate her interest in the issues of identity, place and advocacy and started her directorial works like Citizen Hong Kong (1999) and China 21 (2001). With filmmaker Thomas F. Lennon, Yang founded the Chang Ai Media Project in 2003 to raise HIV/AIDS awareness in China. Since then, its documentaries and public service announcements have been seen by hundreds of millions of Chinese viewers. Together they made a trilogy of short documentary films about modern China, including The Blood of Yingzhou District (2006), which won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject, and Tongzhi in Love (2008), which won 2009 San Francisco Golden Gate Fiction and Documentary Festival Jury Prize. After returning to Hong Kong in 2013, Ruby continues to produce feature documentary, including My Voice, My Life (2014), which brought her Hong Kong Directors’ Guide Awards Best New Director, and her most recent work Ritoma (2018).

Ruby uses camera to tell us stories about identity, place, and voiceless people. Her documentaries empowered disenfranchised groups to speak out and brought their stories to the sight of the world. But what is the story of herself? What is her journey of becoming a filmmakers? How did she shape her career in America as a minority group? What did she experience from making the documentaries in different countries? What’s her opinion of Chinese and Hong Kong films in international stage? Come to meet Ruby Yang and listen about her journey as a filmmaker, her thought on winning an Oscar, and interesting story from making her documentaries.

香港出生的奧斯卡得主楊紫燁，原本於舊金山藝術學院主修繪畫，後來卻對短片作為藝術媒介萌生興趣，並深受亞裔美國人的新媒體運動影響，透過電影和紀錄片創出一片天地。她曾在許多電影中擔任剪接，作品有《天浴》（1998年）和 《紐約深秋》（2000年）。在擔任電影剪接期間，楊紫燁開始對身份、地域和倡導工作相關的議題產生興趣，驅使她開始執導，其作品包括《風雨故園》（1999）和《中國21》（2001）。

楊紫燁在2003年與電影製片人托馬斯‧列儂合作創立「倡愛文化傳播」，透過紀錄片和公共服務讓數以億計的中國觀眾了解國內愛滋病的實況 ，以提高人民對愛滋病的認知。 他們製作的短片紀錄片《潁州的孩子》（2006）獲得2007年奧斯卡最佳紀錄片短片獎，而《彼岸浮生》（2008）則獲得2009年舊金山金門獎小說和紀錄片評委會獎。在2013年回港後，楊繼續製作專題紀錄片，更憑《爭氣》（2014）榮獲香港導演獎最佳新導。她最近的作品《仁多瑪》（2018），是關於藏族牧民在傳統與現代的衝擊與融合。

楊紫燁用攝影機告訴我們關於身份、地域和弱勢社群的故事。她的紀錄片為被剝奪權利的群眾發聲，並將他們的故事帶到國際舞臺上。但她自己的故事是怎樣的？她成為電影製作人的旅程又如何？作為少數族裔的她是如何在美國建立自己的事業？她在不同國家攝製紀錄片時有什麼經歷？她認為中國和香港電影在國際舞臺上又有什麼發展？

是次活動讓大家了解楊紫燁導成為製片人的心路歷程，獲頒奧斯卡獎項的想法，以及製作紀錄片過程中的有趣故事。大家萬物錯過！

Every student is welcome to prepare at least one question to Ruby, and she will answer you in person!
歡迎同學預備至少一條問題，屆時楊導演會親自回應。

Ruby Yang has worked on a range of feature and documentary films exploring Chinese themes as director, producer and editor. She won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject in 2007. She is also known for her feature documentary Citizen Hong Kong and the award winning documentary My Voice, My Life (2014). The latter one was named one of “Hong Kong’s five most-notable films of 2014” by Wall Street Journal.

Ruby is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Ruby now lives in Hong Kong. She was appointed by the University of Hong Kong as Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities in 2013.

She now heads the Hong Kong Documentary Initiative at the University of Hong Kong, which aims to nurture the next generation of documentary filmmakers in the region.

楊紫燁曾導演、製作和剪輯多部專題影片和紀錄片，內容主要探索與中國相關的議題。她在2017年榮獲奧斯卡金像獎最佳紀錄短片。楊導演的代表作包括《彼岸浮生》（2008）和《爭氣》（2014），後者更獲《華爾街日報》選為「2014年香港5大重要電影」。

楊導演亦是美國導演工會和電影藝術與科學學院的一員。2013 年獲香港大學邀請擔任「孔梁巧玲傑出人文學者」。現居香港的楊導演是香港大學「香港紀錄片拓展計劃」的策劃人，致力培育年輕一代的紀錄片製片人。

Movers & Shakers

Organized by the Asia Society Hong Kong Center and sponsored by the Ng Teng Fong Charitable Foundation, Movers & Shakers is a 12-month program aimed at developing global competence and leadership skills among Hong Kong students. The goal is to inspire and instill an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset amongst students, and to strengthen their future competitive edge in Hong Kong and beyond.

Other Movers & Shakers Programs
To find out more about Movers & Shakers Programs and keep update with upcoming programs, join our community now on our dedicated Facebook Group @ASHKMoversShakers. Interesting and relevant content on our activities will be shared among the Group, and students will be encouraged to contribute and exchange thoughts.