Dayyan Eng

Dayyan Eng (known as Wu Shixian to audiences in China) is a Chinese-American writer-director of Chinese, English, and Persian ancestry. Growing up in several countries, he studied film at the University of Washington and transferred to the prestigious Beijing Film Academy where he completed undergraduate studies in directing. Starting his career directing TV commercials for the Asian and global markets, Eng first won awards and recognition at Venice, Sundance and Cannes film festivals for his film Bus 44 (2001), and for his acclaimed romantic-comedy Waiting Alone (2004). Eng is the first American to direct a Chinese feature film; the first foreign member of the China Film Director's Guild, and made history as the first foreign director to have a film nominated for "Best Picture" at the Chinese academy awards. Waiting Alone remains the highest-rated Chinese romantic-comedy to-date in China (as of 2022). Eng's films have also garnered accolades and awards for actors he's worked with, which have included top stars in Asia and Hollywood. Eng followed up with the genre-bending dramedy/psychological suspense Inseparable (2011), which he wrote, produced and directed. The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival and stars Daniel Wu and Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey -- who became the first Hollywood actor to star in a fully Chinese-financed film. Inseparable, which also co-stars Gong Beibi, Yan Ni, and Peter Stormare, was named as one of The Wall Street Journal's "Top 10 Most Notable Asian Films of the Year". In 2017, Eng directed the indie fantasy-comedy Wished (2017) (co-written with Justin Malen), which beat local box office estimates at the time to gross RMB$70 million in two weeks. It held the highest audience scores across the top four ticketing platforms for local comedies released that crowded summer, and gained a total of 100,000,000 paid views across China's top three online movie platforms in just over a fortnight. Wished stars Xia Yu, Yan Ni, and K-pop star Victoria Song, with cameos by nearly a dozen of China's biggest names including Daniel Wu, Wang Baoqiang, Ning Jing, Lei Jiayin, and Bao Bei-Er. Wished won a Golden Angel Award at the 2017 Chinese American Film Festival, and was an Official Selection at the 37th Hawaii International Film Festival. The film was subsequently optioned to be remade as a Hollywood film. Eng divides his time between Los Angeles and Beijing. He is multilingual, and reads and writes English, Chinese, and Persian.