Cathy Yan
Cathy Yan Yuxi (born 1986) is a Chinese-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her films include the comedy-drama film Dead Pigs (2018) and Birds of Prey (2020), the eighth installment of the DC Extended Universe.
Cathy Yan

Lega Nerd · YouTube: Margot Robbie è di nuovo Harley Quinn: "Birds of Prey è una corsa folle!" (Time: 0m44s) – View/save archived versions on archive.org · CC BY 3.0
- Name
- Cathy Yan
- Born
- 1986
- Birthplace
- China
- Education
- * Princeton University
- Occupation
- Filmmaker
- Nationality
- People's Republic of China · United States
- Known for
- Dead Pigs · Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn
- Honours
- Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting
- Languages
- Chinese
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Cathy Yan Yuxi (born 1986) is a Chinese-born American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her films include the comedy-drama film Dead Pigs (2018) and Birds of Prey (2020), the eighth installment of the DC Extended Universe.
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Cathy Yan (born 1983) is a film director and screenwriter, of Chinese and American nationality. The film director was born in China. Cathy Yan was educated at New York University Tisch School of the Arts and Princeton University.
Among the works is Dead Pigs. Languages used include Chinese.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 27 September 2026
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Authority files
wikidata · Q51923835 · wikipedia · Cathy Yan
In this article
Biography
Biography
Cathy Yan studied at Princeton University and New York University Tisch School of the Arts. The recorded working language is Chinese. Works named in the authority record are Dead Pigs and Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn. Distinctions recorded are Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Cathy Yan • Born — 1986 • Birthplace — China • Education — * Princeton University • New York University • Occupation — Filmmaker • Years Active — 2010–present
Early life and education
Early life and education
Yan was born in China and raised in Northern Virginia, near Washington, D.C. While her family was living in China, Yan's father was given a visa to study sociology in the U.S. Two years later her mother left for America, and Yan remained in China with her grandparents. At age four she was reunited with her parents in America. As a child, Yan grew up with various creative outlets courtesy of her relatives and "deeply creative father". By age 8, Yan was carrying around a video camera, eager to express herself through art and through dancing as a choreographer. She moved to Hong Kong when she was fourteen years old, where she attended high school. She graduated with an A.B. from the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University in 2008 and later graduated in 2016 from New York University's MBA/MFA dual degree program, where she studied at both the Stern School of Business and the Tisch School of the Arts.
Career
Career
Yan worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal in New York, Hong Kong and Beijing before turning to filmmaking. After writing and directing several short films, Yan also shot a web-series and content for brands such as Armani, Subway, Spotify and The Innocence Project. By 2018, Yan made her feature debut with Dead Pigs. The film was inspired by the 2013 Huangpu River dead pigs incident, in which 16,000 dead pigs were found floating down the Huangpu River. Funded by Chinese investors, Yan shot the dark comedy in Shanghai with a bilingual crew then completed the film in New York; director Jia Zhangke executive produced. Dead Pigs premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won a Special Jury Award for ensemble acting. Yan removed 12 minutes from the film in its wider February 2021 release on the streaming platform Mubi. In April 2018, Yan was selected to direct the Harley Quinn DC Extended Universe superhero film Birds of Prey, based on the comic of the same name. The film was released on February 7, 2020 to positive reviews. Margot Robbie starred and co-produced and Christina Hodson wrote the script. Yan was the second woman and the first Asian woman to direct a DC film (or any US superhero film). As of January 2020, Yan is working on directing and producing A24's film adaptation of Sour Heart, a collection of short stories by Jenny Zhang. Yan will co-write the script alongside Zhang for the autobiographical coming-of-age story about the immigrant experience of a young girl who moved from Shanghai to New York in the 90s. In February 2021, Yan started developing an adaptation of Rachel Khong's short story, The Freshening. FilmNation Entertainment and Ali Wong were set to produce the feature, with Yan writing and directing. In 2021, Yan directed an episode of the HBO drama series Succession called "The Disruption", in season three, episode three, for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
Styles and themes
Styles and themes
Yan's cinematic influences include Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou. Since Yan's father was a big fan of the nineties era of Chinese cinema, Yan expanded into East Asian art-house cinema, which included Wong Kar-wai. Including American cinema, Yan appreciates the works of Robert Altman and Paul Thomas Anderson. Yan considers Dead Pigs as "a marriage of the American indie and classic Chinese indie tones she grew up with."
Filmography
Filmography
Short film • Year — Title — Director — Writer — Producer • 2010 — Phishing • 2013 — Last Night • 2014 — Dinosaur Rider • Entropy • Of Tooth and Time • 2015 — Humpty • 2016 — Down River • According to My Mother • 2017 — Groomed Feature film • Year — Title — Director — Writer • 2018 — Dead Pigs • 2020 — Birds of Prey • 2026 — The Gallerist Television • Year — Title — Note • 2021 — Succession — Episode: "The Disruption"
Identity
Identity
Cathy Yan is recorded as film director and screenwriter.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Canva, Michael. Cathy Yan's rapid rise from journalist to 'Birds of Prey' director: 'I didn't think you could do this professionally'. The Washington Post. February 5, 2020.
- 2.Teodorczuk, Tom. Sundance award-winning director Cathy Yan on shunning Hollywood for China with her debut movie 'Dead Pigs'. MarketWatch. 2018.
- 3.Tisch at Sundance - 2018 Sundance - Premieres. Tisch School of the Arts. 2018.
- 4.NYU MBA/MFA Dual Degree. tisch.nyu.edu.
- 5.Cathy Yan. Tisch School of the Arts.
- 6.Cathy Yan. tisch.nyu.edu.
- 7.Schwartz, Alexandra. Cathy Yan's Accidental Movie Career. The New Yorker. 29 February 2020.
- 8.Rife, Katie. Meet Cathy Yan, the woman hired to direct DC's next Harley Quinn movie. The A.V. Club. April 17, 2018.
- 9.Kiang, Jessica. Sundance Film Review: 'Dead Pigs'. Variety. 25 January 2018.
- 10.Giroux, Jack. Cathy Yan Interview: Dead Pigs, Birds of Prey, and More. SlashFilm.com. 2021-02-12.
- 11.Couch, Aaron. Margot Robbie's 'Birds of Prey' Gets 2020 Release Date confirmed. The Hollywood Reporter. September 24, 2018.
- 12.Fleming, Mike Jr. Cathy Yan Is Warner Bros' Choice To Direct Margot Robbie In Next Harley Quinn Film. Deadline. 17 April 2018.
- 13.Vary, Adam B. 'Birds of Prey' Director Cathy Yan Reveals the Crucial Advice Patty Jenkins Gave Her. Variety. 2020-01-28.
- 14.Cathy Yan. Gold House.
- 15.Lang, Brent. Cathy Yan to Write, Direct Sci-Fi Comedy 'The Freshening' for FilmNation (EXCLUSIVE). Variety. 2021-02-05.
- 16.Cathy Yan. IMDb.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 3
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
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