Jessica Yu
Encyclopedia
Jessica Lingman Yu is an American
film director
, writer
, producer
, and editor
. She has worked on documentaries
, dramatic films
, and television shows. Yu won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject for Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
(1996).
in Palo Alto, California. She then went to Yale University
and became a NCAA All American in fencing
and competed on the US National team.
, and their daughters Ava and Esme live in Los Angeles
. A fifth-generation American, her father's family is from Shanghai
and her mother's is from Guangdong
.
Yu received an Oscar in the category Best Documentary Short Film with this film.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
, and editor
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
. She has worked on documentaries
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, dramatic films
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
, and television shows. Yu won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject for Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien
Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien is a 1996 short documentary film directed by Jessica Yu. It won an Academy Award at the 69th Academy Awards in 1997 for Documentary Short Subject....
(1996).
Early life
Yu graduated from Gunn High SchoolGunn High School
Henry M. Gunn High School is one of two public high schools in Palo Alto, California. Gunn High School is a four-year high school with a current enrollment of just over 1,900 students. The Class of 1966 was the first class to graduate from Gunn High School. The academic year has two semesters with...
in Palo Alto, California. She then went to Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and became a NCAA All American in fencing
Fencing
Fencing, which is also known as modern fencing to distinguish it from historical fencing, is a family of combat sports using bladed weapons.Fencing is one of four sports which have been featured at every one of the modern Olympic Games...
and competed on the US National team.
Personal life
She, her writer/actor husband Mark SalzmanMark Salzman
Mark Joseph Salzman is an American writer. Salzman is best known for his 1986 memoir Iron & Silk, which describes his experiences living in China as an English teacher in the early 1980s....
, and their daughters Ava and Esme live in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. A fifth-generation American, her father's family is from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
and her mother's is from Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
.
Selected filmography (as director)
- Ping Pong PlayaPing Pong PlayaPing Pong Playa is a 2007 comedy film directed by Jessica Yu and written by Jessica Yu and Jimmy Tsai. The story centers on an Asian ping pong family with a buffoonish and irreverent son.-Plot:...
(2008) - ProtagonistProtagonist (film)Protagonist is a 2007 documentary film about the parallels between human life and Euripidean dramatic structure. The film was written and directed by Jessica Yu. It featured extensive interviews with German terrorist Hans-Joachim Klein, ex-gay Christian evangelist Mark Pierpont, Mexican bank robber...
(2007) - Grey's AnatomyGrey's AnatomyGrey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...
(TV series) - The West Wing (TV series)
- In the Realms of the UnrealIn the Realms of the UnrealIn the Realms of the Unreal is a 2004 documentary about outsider artist Henry Darger. Darger is known for his 15,143-page fantasy manuscript entitled The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Caused by the Child Slave...
(2004) - American DreamsAmerican DreamsAmerican Dreams is an American television comedy-drama program broadcast on the NBC television network, produced by Once A Frog and Dick Clark Productions in association with Universal Network Television and NBC Studios...
TV Series - The Guardian (TV series)The Guardian (TV series)The Guardian is an American drama series which aired on CBS from September 25, 2001 to May 4, 2004. It is currently showing in re-runs on the Sleuth Channel in the US. The Guardian has also aired in the United Kingdom on the Hallmark Channel, ABC1 and more recently five USA and as of August...
- ERER (TV series)ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(TV series) - The Living MuseumThe Living MuseumThe Living Museum in Queens County, New York City, USA, is an art studio dedicated to presenting the art produced by patients at the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, the largest state psychiatric care institution in New York City....
(1998) - Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'BrienBreathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'BrienBreathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien is a 1996 short documentary film directed by Jessica Yu. It won an Academy Award at the 69th Academy Awards in 1997 for Documentary Short Subject....
(1996)
Yu received an Oscar in the category Best Documentary Short Film with this film.
- The Conductor (1994)
- Sour Death Balls (1993)
External links
- Ping Pong Playa official film website
- Protagonist official film website
- In The Realms Of The Unreal official film website by Diorama Films, LLC
- Breathing Lessons official film website on Pacific News Service
- Sour Death Balls video at Lumen Eclipse