Tom Lin Shu-yu

• Name — Tom Lin Shu-yu • Born — 1976 • Education — Shih Hsin University (BA) California Institute of the Arts (MFA)

Lin attended elementary school in Twin Cities, Minnesota, where his father was conducting his doctorate research in American literature. He returned to Hsinchu, Taiwan, during his junior year to attend National Experimental High School, an experimental bilingual high school, despite not knowing any Mandarin. Lin graduated from the Department of Radio, Television and Film at Shih Hsin University in 1998. Lin later attended the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), where he studied under Thom Andersen. He graduated with his MFA from CalArts in 2002. His thesis film, Parachute Kids, is about a recent Taiwan to America transplant and his girlfriend, who is moving to Taiwan with her parents. Originally a documentary about undocumented youths, Lin pivoted into narrative after his would-be subjects revealed too much illegal activity. The film was screened at the 21st Vancouver International Film Festival.

After graduation, Lin returned to Taiwan, where he worked as an assistant director for filmmakers like Tsai Ming-liang, Cheng Wen-tang, and Zero Chou. His short The Pain of Others was nominated for a Golden Horse Award in 2005. Lin made his feature film directorial debut with Winds of September (2008). It's centered around nine high school students' lives in Lin's hometown of Hsinchu, Taiwan. He began writing the script in 2004 with characters loosely inspired by his high school friends. Eric Tsang came on as a producer after his daughter, Taiwanese singer Bowie Tsang, recommended the script to him, after having seen Lin's film The Pain of Others. Lin and co-writer Tsai Tsung-han won Best Original Screenplay at the 45th Golden Horse Awards. His third feature film, Zinnia Flower (2015), is about two mourners bonding 100 days after their partners' deaths. Lin began writing the screenplay for the film 107 days after his wife died in July 2012. The film premiered at the Taipei Film Festival in July 2015 before opening in Taiwanese cinemas in early October. It was nominated for three awards at the 52nd Golden Horse Awards, including Best Original Screenplay. His fourth feature film, The Garden of Evening Mists (2019), is an adaptation of the Booker Prize-shortlisted novel of the same name. It is a wartime romance set during and after the Japanese occupation of Malaya about a former Japanese POW who travels to the Cameron Highlands to build a garden for her dead sister. This was Lin's first foreign production. The film was nominated in nine categories at the 56th Golden Horse Awards, including Lin's first nomination for Best Director. His fifth feature film, Yen and Ai-Lee (2024), is a collaboration with his wife Kimi Hsia and revolves around domestic violence. The film premiered at the 29th Busan International Film Festival, and received eight nominations at the 61st Golden Horse Awards. His next film Life's a Struggle "宋岳庭传" is a musical biography about Taiwanese rapper Shawn "M80" Sung.

His first wife died in July 2012. He dated actress Kimi Hsia for about three years and they married in 2019. His father is a professor at the National Tsing Hua University.

• Year — Title — Director — Writer — Notes • 1997 — The Olfactory System — short • 2002 — Parachute Kids — short • 2005 — The Pain of Others — short • 2008 — Winds of September — co-writer with Tsai Tsung-han • 2011 — Starry Starry Night • 2015 — Zinnia Flower — co-writer with Liu Wei-jan • 2019 — The Garden of Evening Mists • 2024 — Yen and Ai-Lee • TBD — Life's a Struggle