Roseanne Liang
New Zealand film director
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Roseanne Liang is a New Zealand film director.[1] Her first feature film, My Wedding and Other Secrets, was the first theatrically released feature film made by a Chinese New Zealander and became 2011's highest grossing local feature film.[2] She also co-created, directed, and co-wrote the 2021 TV series Creamerie.
Roseanne Liang | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Alma mater | University of Auckland |
| Occupation | Filmmaker |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse | Stephen Harris |
| Children | 2 |
Early life
Liang was born in New Zealand to Hong Kong emigrants. Her parents were doctors, one was a doctor and the other a nurse.[3] She has two sisters.[4] Liang attended St Cuthbert's College, Auckland, and was dux of the school in 1995.[5]
She went on to study computer science at the University of Auckland.[3] She graduated with a Masters in Creative and Performing Arts in 2003.[4]
Career
Liang made her directorial debut with the autobiographical documentary film Banana in a Nutshell (2005), which was about her own cross-cultural romance with a Pākehā.[6] The film won Best Documentary at DOCNZ International Documentary Film Festival.[7] Liang won Best Director of Documentary Films at Asian Festival of First Films.[7] The film was screened at New Zealand International Film Festival 2005,[8] where she met John Barnett, a producer from South Pacific Pictures, who requested a feature length adaptation of the documentary.[4]
That project later became the romantic comedy My Wedding and Other Secrets (2011).[1] The film won Best Actress and Best Screenplay Award for a feature film at the Aotearoa Film & Television Awards.[2]
Liang also directed the short film Take 3, which won awards in 2007 at the Berlin and Valladolid Film Festivals, and the hit web series Flat3 and Friday Night Bites.[9][10] In 2008, she was awarded Women in Film and Television International's Woman to Watch Award for Women in Film and Television.[5]
Liang is a part of the Thousand Apologies Collective, a creative cohort of seven writers and filmmakers based in Auckland, New Zealand, which includes Shuchi Kothari and Serina Pearson. They made their television debut with their pan-Asian sketch comedy series A Thousand Apologies on TV3, New Zealand's first prime time Asian program.[11][12] Kothari and Liang later cofounded the Pan-Asian Screen Collective with others in August 2018 to support Asian filmmakers in New Zealand.[13]
In 2017, she directed a short film Do No Harm, which was selected to be shown at the Manhattan Short film festival[14] and the 2017 Sundance Film Festival.[15]
In 2020, Liang directed and co-wrote Shadow in the Cloud, a WWII action-horror film, starring Chloë Grace Moretz from a story treatment by Max Landis. It debuted at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People's Choice Award.[16] In the same year, Liang also contributed to The Women Writers' Handbook.[17]
Filmography
Short film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Rest Stop | Yes | No |
| 2008 | Take 3 | Yes | Yes |
| 2015 | Sugar Hit | Yes | Yes |
| 2017 | Do No Harm | Yes | Yes |
Documentary film
- Banana in a Nutshell (2005)
Feature film
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | My Wedding and Other Secrets | Yes | Yes |
| 2020 | Shadow in the Cloud | Yes | Yes |
Television
| Year | Title | Director | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | A Thousand Apologies | Yes | Yes |
| 2021 | Creamerie | Yes | Yes |
| 2024 | Avatar: The Last Airbender | Yes | No |
| 2025 | Murderbot | Yes | No |
Web series
| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Flat3 | Yes | Yes | 12 episodes |
| 2016–2018 | Friday Night Bites | Yes | Yes | |
| 2017 | Unboxed | Yes | No | 6 episodes |
Personal life
Accolades
- SPADA New Filmmaker of the Year (2005)[19][importance?]
- Best Director of Documentary Films — Asian Festival of First Films[7]
- Sir Peter Blake Leadership Award (2012)[5][importance?]