nóng hǎo (“hello” in Shanghainese)
Shucheng Yan grew up in Shanghai before life tossed her across states and seas, leaving her with the firm belief that identity is wonderfully fluid. Part immigrant, part filmmaker, and part jellyfish fangirl, she gravitates toward films that refuse tidy categories and reveal the messy ways we try to make a life. Growing up in a home full of women taught her that the domestic, the "minor," and the overlooked can hold worlds inside the smallest gestures.
She is currently developing her first feature, Water Mama 水母, about a woman who learns more about herself from jellyfish than from any book or relationship. Alongside the feature, Shucheng is making a documentary about first-generation Chinese casino dealers in Las Vegas. In 2025, she graduated from UCLA's MFA program in Film Directing, where her short film Late 姗姗 was selected for the Director’s Spotlight.
Shucheng is a current resident at SFFILM FilmHouse and a programming fellow at the Woods Hole Film Festival. She is a recipient of numerous honors including the Frank Lee Berry Junior Award, John H. and Patricia W. Mitchell Fellowship, Lynn Weston Fellowship in Film, Joseph W. Drown Award for Motion Picture Production, MPA Award, and the inaugural Fiona Tolhurst Memorial Award.
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