Dayyan Eng

Who is Dayyan Eng?

Dayyan Eng, known as Wu Shixian in China, is a Chinese-American filmmaker. He studied film arts at the University of Washington and transferred to the Beijing Film Academy, where he finished his undergraduate studies in directing.

In 2001, he wrote and directed Bus 44 starring Chinese film star Gong Beibi. The film premiered and won awards at the 2001 Venice Film Festival and 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and was invited to 2002 Cannes Film Festival "Directors' Fortnight" - becoming the first Chinese short film to be invited in all three festivals' history. The film was covered extensively in the Chinese media and was critically acclaimed in both China and Europe and gained TV and theatrical distribution in territories worldwide.

In 2005, Eng wrote and directed a Chinese independent feature film Waiting Alone, starring an ensemble cast of Chinese stars including Xia Yu, Gong Beibi, Li Bingbing, and featuring cameos from some of Asia's most well-known actors including Chow Yun-fat. The film has been called one of 2005 "best films" by over 50 media. Waiting Alone became a hit after its September 2005 domestic China wide-release, and went on to receive 3 nominations at the Chinese academy awards -- the first ever in the history of the awards by a foreign director.