Tian Guan

California Institute of the Arts

BIOGRAPHIE

I am a writer/director based in Beijing. I majored in theatre directing in Central Academy of Drama and earned my MFA degrees in film production from Syracuse University and CalArts, mentored by my favorite filmmaker Nina Menkes. As a director, I like to explore the power shift between individuals and social groups. I tried to explore the boundary between the theatrical and cinematic languages in my first short comedy DRAMA, which was about the delicate power balance between genders. My second short film, THE STORY OF BIN, was based on a true event. It was about a teenager who was gradually transformed from an abused kid to an abuser in an extreme social circumstance. I just finished my latest short film THE ARRIVAL OF ALIENS and still working on its VR version. The film is a fable, exploring the power relations between the alienated individual and the highly programmed social system. The script of the film won the gold award at AME Film Project, China Academy of Art. My short films have received awards at several international film festivals, including Warsaw Film Festival, Los Angeles Film Festival, Leeds International Film Festival, Gijon International Film Festival, San Diego Asian Film Festival, etc. Other festival screenings included Montreal World Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, Palm Springs Film Festival, DOKUFEST, Mill Valley Film Festival, New Orleans Film Festival, Foyle Film Festival, etc. DRAMA was collected by John Hopkins University MICA Film Center. THE STORY OF BIN has been shortlisted by Semaine de la Critique in 2018. Now, I am working on my first feature script A BRIEF HISTORY OF A SAVAGE LADY which has been selected by HAF Film Lab and FIRST Feature Lab.

FILMOGRAPHIE