We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yuying Tang. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yuying below.
Alright, Yuying thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
The 15-minute narrative short film “Ripple Nipple”, which I wrote and directed, holds profound significance in my artistic journey. The film explores a young girl’s coming-of-age experience as she grapples with the changes in her body, her evolving self-awareness, and her shifting perception of the world around her. As my graduate school application film, it was a defining work that affirmed my aspiration to become a director—one who translates personal experiences into cinematic language, forging an emotional connection with audiences through storytelling.
Through this project, I also discovered my unwavering passion for female-centric narratives, a thematic focus that has since become the foundation of my creative exploration. “Ripple Nipple“ was a milestone in my career, as it was the first time my work received recognition at both domestic and international film festivals. It granted me the privilege of walking the red carpet, engaging directly with audiences, and sharing my own journey of growth through film.
Much like the protagonist of my story, I, too, found myself undergoing a transformation—one that not only deepened my artistic vision but also shaped my understanding of the power of storytelling in illuminating personal and universal experiences.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
From an early age, I developed a deep love for literature and began crafting stories as a child. At eighteen, I made the resolute decision to pursue writing as a lifelong career, leading me to study dramatic writing at the top Chinese Art School, Central Academy of Drama. Over the course of five years, I immersed myself in the works of literary giants such as Shakespeare and Chekhov, experiencing the profound joy of storytelling. It was by chance that I encountered Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror, a film that awakened me to the immense emotional depth that words can carry and how they can be translated into the tangible language of cinema. From that moment on, I fell in love with film and became determined to use visual storytelling as a medium to share my narratives with a broader audience.
Upon being accepted into the directing program at the California Institute of the Arts, I received rigorous training within Hollywood’s professional system. With a firm commitment to exploring female-centered narratives, I began delving deeper into visual storytelling techniques that would best align with my thematic focus. My artistic curiosity gravitates toward the complexities of female self-awareness and internal emotions. As a director, I am particularly drawn to the challenge of portraying the subjective inner world of women through first-person perspectives in film.
This exploration led me to embark on my journey as a writer-director. My first short film, The Virgin, tells the story of a lonely teenage girl who, in search of her estranged mother, unexpectedly forms a deep emotional connection with an elderly woman. In my second short, Ripple Nipple, I continued examining the uncertainties women face during adolescence, this time focusing on gender consciousness and the subtle psychological shifts that occur during physical development. These two films earned recognition at film festivals in China and across the globe. In July 2023, I was invited by the Independent Shorts Awards to participate in their screening event, where I was honored with the awards for Best Female Short Film and Best Children’s Short Film. Additionally, I received the Golden Brick Award at the Beijing International Children’s Film Festival, which granted my work the opportunity to be showcased in Russia for international audiences.
Beyond narrative filmmaking, I have also ventured into documentary storytelling. As a story consultant and writer, I collaborated with Chapman University documentary director Xinyue Wu on a film centered on individuals with disabilities. This project gained recognition at various festivals, including winning Best Short Documentary at the American Documentary and Animation Film Festival.
As a professional screenwriter, I have had the privilege of contributing to multiple commercial projects in both China and the United States. My work includes collaborations on Mozart from Outer Space, directed by Chen Sicheng, which won the Special Jury Prize at the 35th Tokyo International Film Festival. I also worked on Healing Romance, a television drama produced by Youku, one of China’s largest media platforms—this project was further recognized as a key provincial-level cultural initiative by the Sichuan government in 2022. Additionally, I served as a credited writer on multiple mini TV series, including Falling in Love with My Brother’s Fiancé, which garnered over 45K views. I am also a signed author for a renowned Chinese online literature platform, further expanding my storytelling reach.
Today, I continue developing independent female-centric projects as a director while remaining an active screenwriter in the Chinese and American film industries. My goal is to explore the inner worlds of women through cinema, shaping contemporary female narratives, and bringing these stories to the global stage for broader recognition.
Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?
As a female film worker, the biases and uncertainties I have experienced growing up as a woman are both deeply personal and universally shared among women. Writing and visual storytelling have become my means of expressing emotions and exploring self-awareness. Through the process of filmmaking, I have gained a deeper understanding of myself, my identity, and my place in the world. More importantly, I hope to translate my emotions and perceptions—shaped by a distinctly female perspective—into films that resonate with others. Whether as a question or as a form of encouragement, female narratives deserve to be seen, heard, and understood.
This belief was profoundly reinforced when my short film Ripple Nipple was selected for the NewGen Berlin Chinese Youth Film Festival. During an online Q&A session following the screening in Berlin, a young woman shared how my film helped her heal from an unsettling childhood memory. She expressed how my depiction of the confusion surrounding puberty reassured her that she was not alone—that the experiences she once found shameful were, in fact, shared and valid. That moment reaffirmed my commitment to independent filmmaking and the exploration of female stories. It is these connections—these moments of recognition and understanding—that drive me to continue telling stories that illuminate the complexities of womanhood, ensuring that these narratives find their rightful place in the global cinematic landscape.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
As a filmmaker, the most fulfilling moment for me is seeing my work come to life on the big screen. My narrative short films, The Virgin and Ripple Nipple, which I wrote and directed, along with the documentary Mercy, where I contributed as a writer and script consultant, have been selected for various international film festivals. These opportunities have allowed me to engage with audiences from diverse countries, backgrounds, age groups, and genders.
Interacting with viewers has become an essential part of my creative process. The conversations and reflections sparked by my films often provide me with unexpected insights and inspiration, reinforcing my drive to tell the next story. It is in these moments—when my work resonates beyond the screen, fostering dialogue and shared experiences—that I find the true purpose of filmmaking.
Contact Info:
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuying-tang/?locale=en_US
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCT9hj1_nTlDAgk3Viem6lUQ
