Sherwood Xuehua Hu (; born 1967), is a Chinese American

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and film director.

Early life and education

Hu was born in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flowin ...

in 1967, to Hu Weimin (; 1932-1989), a theatre director, and Gu Menghua (). His sister Hu Xuelian () is a producer.

Career

Born and raised in Shanghai in a creative and artistic family, Hu relocated to the US where he earned a master's degree in theater and film production from the

State University of New York at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 1846 ...

, and a Ph.D. in directing from the

University of Hawaii at Manoa A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. He also studied under

Joseph Papp Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created ...

at New York's

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American ...

, and began his professional career directing theatre, including productions of Rashomon, Constant Prince, and The Chairman's Wife. He also acted in the lead role of Song Liling in several productions of

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yell ...

's '' M. Butterfly''. Hu created ''The Legend of Prince Lanling'', a lavish stage production set in ancient China; this received an honorable mention from the Kennedy Arts Center. He later adapted this into his first feature film, the epic ''Warrior Lanling'', which was launched at the

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...

, San Sebastian Film Festival,

Hawaii International Film Festival The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii. HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is ...

and others. In 1998, Francis Ford Coppola and

Wayne Wang Wayne Wang (; born January 12, 1949) is a Hong Kong–American director, producer, and screenwriter. Considered a pioneer of Asian-American cinema, he was one of the first Chinese-American filmmakers to gain a major foothold in Hollywood ...

were executive producers of his second feature, one of the first co-productions between American and Chinese filmmakers. '' Lani Loa - The Passage'' was a

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

an ghost story/cop movie/spiritual love story, shot in Shanghai and Hawaii, and starred

Angus Macfadyen Angus Macfadyen (born 21 September 1963) is a Scottish actor. His roles include Robert the Bruce, both in ''Braveheart'' and ''Robert the Bruce'', Komodo in ''Warriors of Virtue'', Vice-Counsel Dupont in '' Equilibrium'', Jeff Denlon in the '' ...

, Ray Bumatai, and

Chris Tashima Christopher Inadomi Tashima (born March 24, 1960) is a Japanese American actor and director. He is co-founder of the entertainment company Cedar Grove Productions and Artistic Director of its Asian American theatre company, Cedar Grove OnStage. T ...

. Tashima also starred in his next film, ''On The Roof'' (2002), a small

indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Gaming *Independent video game development, video games created without financial backing from large companies *Indie game, any game (board ...

digital video ensemble piece filmed in Pasadena, California. In 2003, Hu returned to China to direct a 40-episode television series, ''Purple Jade'' for China Central Television, and a 30-episode TV series "The War of Peking". He returned to epic costume period film work with ''Prince of the Himalayas'' (2007), his own adaptation of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', set in ancient

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

, performed entirely in the Tibetan language. The film received numerous awards including best picture, best director, and best actor at several international film festivals. Hu also has continued with theatre work, including stage productions of

A.R. Gurney Albert Ramsdell Gurney Jr. (November 1, 1930 – June 13, 2017) (sometimes credited as Pete Gurney) was an American playwright, novelist and academic. He is known for works including ''The Dining Room'' (1982), ''Sweet Sue (play), Sweet Sue'' (1 ...

's '' Sylvia'',

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and lit ...

's ''

Dirty Hands ''Dirty Hands'' (french: Les Mains sales) is a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. It was first performed on 2 April 1948 at the Theatre Antoine in Paris, directed by Pierre Valde and starring François Périer, Marie Olivier and André Luguet. A poli ...

'' and a modern ballet, ''Shakespeare and His Women'', for the 8th Shanghai International Arts Festival (2006), and a stage production of Prince of the Himalayas (2007) for the 9th Shanghai International Arts Festival. Production of “Mulan”, which is adapted as a shadow puppetry show, received rave reviews and theater awards, including the “Golden Clown Award” of the 5th International Theater Festival in Russia. His theater production “Farewell My Concubine” was in New York Met Life, sold out completely, and received raving reviews. Recently, he directed a new Beijing opera, “New Dragon Inn,” which is based on a film of the same name; when the production opened at the Shanghai Grand Theater it was called “an instant classic”. His innovative music production "Music of Life" was successfully performed at Carnegie Hall in October 2019. Between his film and theatre projects, Hu is also a guest professor at the Shanghai Drama Academy where he supervises and mentors graduate students. He has been honored with the title of "Eastern Scholar" as a distinguished professor. Hu founded the Film and Television School at Shanghai Theater Academy in 2012, and served as its dean and professor supervising graduate students. He also established the MIA Center (Media Image Art), contributing his time to study VR／AR technology film mixed with theater, computer arts, digital science, and high-tech engineering. He is also a tenured professor at USC-ICCI, Shanghai Jiaotong University. Hu has also been a host on the Shanghai TV station ''Art and Culture'' channel of its film critique program, ''Hu on Silver Screen,'' since 2009. He was also the artistic director of the 2010 World Expo's Shanghai Pavilion. His new book《Notions of Directing》has been published by Chinese Film Press. Hu is an active member of APSA. He received a “Golden Crane Award” for Excellent Contribution in Film at the 2017 Tokyo International Film Festival, and was awarded best director at the 51st Houston International Film Festival in 2018.

Filmography

Trivia

*Hu is sometimes credited as Sherwood X. Hu. *He has a sister who is an actress and a brother who is also a filmmaker.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hu, Sherwood 1967 births Living people American film directors of Chinese descent American theatre directors of Chinese descent Film directors from Shanghai University at Buffalo alumni University of Hawaiʻi alumni Chinese emigrants to the United States