Sean Wang

{{Short description|Film director}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Sean Wang

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth based on age as of date|29|2024|1|31}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/awards/consider-this/sundance-2024-breakout-oscar-nominee-sean-wang-interview-1234949809/|title=The Biggest Breakout Filmmaker of Sundance 2024 Is Also a Current Oscar Nominee|date=January 31, 2024|first=Marcus|last=Jones|work=IndieWire|access-date=December 23, 2024}}

| birth_place =

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality =

| alma_mater = University of Southern California (BFA)

| other_names =

| occupation = Film director

| years_active = 2020–present

| spouse =

| children =

| parents =

| module = {{Infobox Chinese

| embed = yes

| child = yes

| t = 王湘聖

| s = 王湘圣

| p = Wáng Xiāngshèng

| tp =

| w =

| bpmf =

| gr =

| poj =

| h =

| j =

| wuu =

| mi =

| ci =

}}

| notable_works = {{ubl|Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (2023)|Dìdi (2024)}}

}}

Sean Wang (traditional Chinese: 王湘聖; born 1994 or 1995) is a Taiwanese-American film director.{{Cite news |last=Sperling |first=Nicole |date=2024-02-02 |title=Young Filmmaker Lives His 'Fairy Tale' at Sundance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/02/business/media/sean-wang-sundance-film-festival.html |access-date=2024-02-04 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} His documentary short, Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó, premiered at the 2023 South by Southwest, where it won both the Grand Jury Award and the Audience Award.{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Jordan |date=2023-03-14 |title=SXSW Film & TV Festival Announces 2023 Jury and Special Awards |url=https://www.sxsw.com/film/2023/sxsw-film-tv-festival-announces-2023-jury-and-special-awards/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=SXSW |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Roberts |first=Jordan |date=2023-03-20 |title=2023 SXSW Film & TV Festival Announces Audience Award Winners |url=https://www.sxsw.com/film/2023/2023-sxsw-film-tv-festival-announces-audience-award-winners/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=SXSW |language=en-US}} It went on to be nominated for Best Documentary Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-23 |title=2024 Oscars Nominations: See the Full List |url=https://aframe.oscars.org/news/post/2024-oscars-nominations-full-list |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |language=en}}{{Cite web |last=Morfoot |first=Addie |date=2024-01-26 |title=Disney + Sets Release Date for Oscar Nominated Docu Short 'Nǎi Nai and Wài Pó' (EXCLUSIVE) |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/disney-plus-nai-nai-and-wai-po-release-date-oscar-nominee-1235886621/ |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}

His feature-length directorial debut, Dìdi, premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award.{{Cite web |date=2024-01-26 |title=The Complete List of 2024 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners |url=https://festival.sundance.org/blogs/the-complete-list-of-2024-sundance-film-festival-award-winners/ |access-date=2024-06-10 |website=Sundance Film Festival |language=en-US}} Wang also won two Independent Spirit Awards for the film.{{Cite web |last=Ford |first=Rebecca |date=February 22, 2025 |title='Anora’s Cinderella Story Continues With Three Independent Spirit Awards Wins |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/story/anora-independent-spirit-awards-wins-awards-insider |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}

Early life and education

Wang is from Fremont, California, and was raised in a Taiwanese American family.{{cite news |title=Sean Wang made a home movie. Now, he and his grandmothers are going to the Oscars |url=https://apnews.com/article/oscars-short-nai-nai-wai-po-wang-6651a448e1f9598b6581a9cf95c35c33 |access-date=11 March 2024 |work=Associated Press |date=14 February 2024 |language=en}} He attended and graduated from Irvington High School.{{Cite web |last=Chen |first=Crystal |date=2024-03-11 |title=Sean Wang's "Nai Nai and Wai Po" Delivers a Lighthearted and Touching Glimpse into Our Grandparents' Lives. |url=https://ihsvoice.com/2024/03/11/sean-wangs-nai-nai-and-wai-po-delivers-a-lighthearted-and-touching-glimpse-into-our-grandparents-lives/ |access-date=2024-07-24 |website=The Irvington Voice}} Afterwards, he attended film school at the University of Southern California, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree in film and video production in 2016, and worked for Google Creative Lab. He participated in multiple Sundance Institute programs, including the director and screenwriter labs.

Filmography

  • Still Here (2020)
  • H.A.G.S. (2021){{cite news |last1=Souter |first1=Collin |title=Short Films in Focus: H.A.G.S. (Have a Good Summer) |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/features/short-films-in-focus-hags-have-a-good-summer |access-date=11 March 2024 |work=RogerEbert.com |language=en}}
  • Sunday (2021)
  • Dumbfoundead: Secret Menu (2022)
  • Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (2023)
  • Dìdi (2024)

Awards and nominations

class="wikitable sortable"
Award

! Year

! Category

! Work

! Result

! class="unsortable" | {{Refh}}

Academy Awards

| 2024

| Best Documentary Short Film

| rowspan="2" | Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

| {{nom}}

|

AFI Fest

| 2023

| Grand Jury Prize – Documentary Short

| {{won}}

| {{Cite web |date=October 30, 2023 |title=AFI FEST 2023 Announces Grand Jury Award Winners |url=https://www.afi.com/news/afi-fest-2023-announces-grand-jury-award-winners/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=American Film Institute |language=en}}

Austin Film Critics Association

| 2025

| Best First Film

| rowspan="7" | Dìdi

| {{nom}}

| {{Cite web |last=Partridge |first=Jon |date=December 27, 2024 |title=2024 Austin Film Critics Association Award Nominations |url=https://austinfilmcritics.org/2024/12/27/2024-austin-film-critics-association-award-nominations/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Austin Film Critics Association |language=en}}

CineFest Miskolc International Film Festival

| 2024

| Adolph Zukor Prize

| {{won}}

| {{Cite web |last=Konya |first=Rita |date=2024-09-14 |title=Norvég film nyerte a miskolci CineFest filmfesztivál fődíját |url=https://hu.euronews.com/2024/09/14/norveg-film-miskolc-cinefest-ingolfsdottir-kardos-sandor-fesztival |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Euronews |language=hu}}

Directors Guild of America Awards

| 2025

| Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film

| {{nom}}

| {{Cite web |date=January 8, 2025 |title=DGA Announces Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film for 2024 |url=https://www.dga.org/News/PressReleases/2025/250108_77thAnnualDGAAwardsFeatureFilmNomineesAnnounced |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Directors Guild of America |language=en}}

Filmfest München

| 2024

| CineKindl Audience Award

| {{won}}

| {{Cite web |title=Introducing the award-winners of the 41st Munich International Film Festival! |url=https://www.filmfest-muenchen.de/en/press/press-releases/ffm_2024_winners/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Filmfest München}}

Hollywood Creative Alliance

| 2024

| Best First Feature

| {{nom}}

| {{Cite web |last=Pond |first=Steve |date=November 25, 2024 |title='Wicked' Leads Nominations for Astra Film Awards |url=https://www.thewrap.com/astra-film-awards-nominations-wicked/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=TheWrap |language=en-US}}

rowspan="2" | Independent Spirit Awards

| rowspan="2" | 2025

| Best First Feature

| {{won}}

| rowspan="2" |

Best First Screenplay

| {{won}}

International Documentary Association

| 2023

| Best Short Documentary

| Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

| {{nom}}

| {{Cite web |last=Bergeson |first=Samantha |date=November 21, 2023 |title=IDA Awards 2023 Nominees: ‘The Mother of All Lies,’ ‘Pianoforte,’ and ‘Going to Mars’ Among Contenders |url=https://www.indiewire.com/awards/results/2023-ida-documentary-awards-nominations-1234928391/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}

San Diego Film Critics Society

| 2024

| Best First Feature

| Dìdi

| {{runner-up}}

| {{Cite web |date=2024-12-09 |title=2024 San Diego Film Critics Society Award Winners |url=https://www.sdfcs.org/2024-award-winners/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=San Diego Film Critics Society |language=en-US}}

Seattle International Film Festival

| 2023

| Documentary Short Grand Jury Prize

| rowspan="3" | Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó

| {{won}}

| {{Cite web |date=May 21, 2023 |title=SIFF 2023 Award Winners |url=https://www.siff.net/blog/siff-2023-award-winners |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Seattle International Film Festival |language=en}}

rowspan="2" | South by Southwest

| rowspan="2" | 2023

| Grand Jury Award – Documentary Short Competition

| {{won}}

|

Audience Award

| {{won}}

|

rowspan="2" | Sundance Film Festival

| 2024

| Audience Award: U.S. Dramatic

| Dìdi

| {{won}}

| {{Cite news |last=Buchanan |first=Kyle |date=2024-01-26 |title=‘In the Summers,’ a Father-Daughters Tale, Wins the Top Prize at Sundance |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/26/movies/sundance-film-festival-winners-list.html |access-date=2025-02-23 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

2025

| Vanguard Award for Fiction

| {{n/a}}

| {{honored}}

| {{Cite web |last=Bergeson |first=Samantha |date=November 22, 2024 |title=Sundance Film Festival 2025 Gala to Honor Sean Wang and ‘Sugarcane’ Co-Directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie with Vanguard Awards |url=https://www.indiewire.com/news/festivals/sundance-film-festival-2025-gala-vanguard-awards-1235068447/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=IndieWire |language=en-US}}

References

{{reflist}}