The Bobby Yan Lectureship in Media and Social Change

BOBBY YAN LECTURE SERIES FEATURING NANFU WANG. 

Nanfu Wang is an award-winning Chinese filmmaker based in the U.S. She is a recipient of the 2020 MacArthur "Genius" Grant. She is a member of the Directors Guild of America and a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Her films have been shortlisted for the Oscars' Best Documentary Feature three times, in 2017, 2020, and 2022 respectively. Her feature documentaries include Hooligan Sparrow (Sundance 2016), I Am Another You (SXSW 2017, Special Jury Prize winner), One Child Nation (Sundance 2019, Grand Jury Prize Winner, Amazon), and In the Same Breath (Sundance 2021, HBO). In 2022, Wang directed and executive produced "Mind Over Murder," a six-episode HBO series. Her latest feature documentary, "Night is Not Eternal" (HBO, 2024), continues her exploration of pressing social issues. Wang has received seven Emmy nominations, one DGA nomination, three Independent Spirit Awards nominations, two PGA nominations, two Peabody Awards, a George Polk Award, and a Humanitas Prize, among other awards.

Born in rural China, Wang overcame poverty and a lack of access to formal education to earn master's degrees from Shanghai University, Ohio University, and New York University. Her films combine rigorous investigative journalism with emotionally resonant storytelling, examining the effects of authoritarianism, corruption, and lack of accountability on individuals and communities. Through her work, Wang challenges viewers to reconsider notions of responsibility, freedom, and truth.