ZAO WANG

DIRECTOR | WRITER

Zao Wang was born in Beijing, China, into a family of filmmakers, who early on involved him in acting and voice-over work at the Beijing Film Studio. At 14 his family emigrated to Mississippi, where he first learned English by watching a lot of American TV and later became a classical music DJ on the local public radio. After graduating college with degrees in physics and philosophy, Zao’s original passion for visual storytelling won out and it landed him at NYU-Tisch, where he received an MFA in Film Directing, and continued his lifelong love of filmmaking.

Zao’s short and feature films are mainly in the psychological horror/thriller/sci-fi genres. Informed by his own immigrant experience, these genre films are elevated with his unique multicultural perspective, and often with a dash of dark humor. His films have premiered at Tribeca, Fantasporto, Fantasia, Yubari, Busan, and Palm Springs, among others. His short Honeymoon Suite won Best Director and Best Horror/Thriller at NBCUniversal Shorts Fest and was optioned by NBCUniversal. 

Zao was chosen by J.J. Abrams as his only Directing Fellow at Bad Robot, where he directed the short film, Full Moon Club. His next film, 5 States of Fear, was commissioned by NBC's Chiller TV and aired nationwide to rave reviews.  

His feature film, The Precipice Game, was released nationwide in China and worldwide through IM Global. Zao had an overall deal with Tencent Pictures, where he developed a sci-fi detective TV series, as well as feature projects with David Goyer. He directed the overseas unit of the Chinese sci-fi epic, The Wandering Earth 2. Zao is currently packaging Savage Paradise, an immigrant detective thriller set in Los Angeles. 

On the TV front, Zao was an Emerging Director at NBCUniversal, Sony Diverse Directors Program, HALF Initiative, and WB Access Directing Workshop. He has shadowed on several shows including The Night Shift, The Purge, 9-1-1: Lone Star, and Quantum Leap. Currently, he is developing a monster TV show with Tomorrow Studios, based on his award-winning short film.