Ursula Liang is an American filmmaker, film and television producer, and story consultant known for her work in documentary cinema. Liang's career had its beginnings in journalism, transitioning into filmmaking with a focus on stories on social issues and marginalized communities.

Early life and education

Liang was born in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

, and went to college at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, earning a degree in psychology and African-American studies. She also attended the

historically black college Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the African-American community. Mo ...

Spelman College Spelman College is a private, historically black, women's liberal arts college in Atlanta, Georgia. It is part of the Atlanta University Center academic consortium in Atlanta. Founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, Spelman re ...

, in 1994.

Career

Liang started her career in journalism, contributing to a wide range of media. She held staff positions at ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

Op-Docs'', ''T: The New York Times Style Magazine'', ''

ESPN The Magazine ''ESPN The Magazine'' was an American monthly sports magazine published by the ESPN sports network in Bristol, Connecticut. The first issue was published on March 11, 1998. Initially published every other week, it scaled back to 24 issues a year i ...

'', and others. Transitioning to

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

, Liang directed, produced, and shot the award-winning documentary '' 9-Man: A Streetball Battle in the Heart of Chinatown'', a film that delves into a version of

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

played in

Chinatowns A Chinatown () is an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Austra ...

across North America. This debut feature was recognized for its insight into Chinatown's community and culture. Liang continued to explore social narratives through her documentaries. ''

Down a Dark Stairwell ''Down a Dark Stairwell'' is a 2020 documentary about the 2014 shooting of Akai Gurley in New York City produced by the film production company Noncompliant Films and directed by Ursula Liang. The documentary made its debut broadcast on the PBS se ...

'' detailed the incident of a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

police officer's confrontation with an unarmed black man, exploring the debate over justice and systemic racism. Her most recent work, ''Jeanette Lee Vs.'', focuses on the life and impact of professional

pool Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

player

Jeanette Lee Jeanette Lee (born Lee Jin-Hee, Hangul: 이진희, July 9, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York) is a Korean-American professional pool player. She was nicknamed the Black Widow by her friends because, in spite of her sweet demeanor, she would "eat peop ...

. In 2023, she came out with the film ''Two Strikes'' that aired on

PBS Frontline ''Frontline'' (stylized as FRONTLINE) is an investigative documentary program distributed by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Episodes are produced at WGBH in Boston, Massachusetts. The series has covered a variety ...

. It examined Florida’s HB 1371, the Prisoner Release Reoffender Act, which was passed in May 1997, and the case of Mark Jones who was incarcerated and serving 12 years of a life sentence. The Florida law has been called "one of the strictest sentencing laws in the US," by the ''Tallahassee Democrat'' newspaper. The project was part of a fellowship she received from Frontline and

Firelight Media Firelight Media is a non-profit filmmaking company founded by filmmaker Stanley Nelson and Marcia Smith. The company is located in New York City. History Firelight Media began in 1998 as an independent non-profit documentary production company ...

, with support from

The Marshall Project The Marshall Project is a nonprofit, online journalism organization focusing on issues related to criminal justice in the United States. It was founded by former hedge fund manager Neil Barsky with former ''New York Times'' executive editor Bi ...

. It premiered at the

Florida Film Festival The Florida Film Festival, produced by Enzian Theater in Maitland, Florida, is an annual international film festival. Overview The Festival includes narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, midnight movies, and educational forum ...

in April 2023.

Awards and recognition

Liang's is a recipient of the Chicken & Egg Award in 2024, acknowledging her impact and achievements in the field.

Personal life

Liang has lived in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, New York and currently resides in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

External links

Official website of 9-Man film

Official website of Noncompliant Films

Firelight Media profile

Film Independent profile

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liang, Ursula Filmmakers from Massachusetts American film directors of Chinese descent Living people American documentary film directors American women journalists of Asian descent University of Michigan alumni ESPN people American women documentary filmmakers Women sports journalists Year of birth missing (living people)