Eris Qian is based in New York City and considers herself as a global nomad. Born and raised in China, she has lived and studied in five continents. She leverages her diasporic experience to tell stories about female characters who defy the norms in finding their place in the world.
Eris' career started at the National Museum of Natural History as a video producer, and her background in documentary informs the grounded research and world-building in her narrative work.
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Her debut short film MOTHER TONGUE premiered at CAAMFest, the biggest Asian American film festival in the world, and screened at 15 prestigious festivals globally. Her upcoming short LAST SHIP EAST won screenplay awards at LA Shorts and HollyShorts.
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Her first feature PULLING SEEDLINGS was selected for 2021 Sundance x Women In Film Financing Strategy Intensive, the Mubi Wscripted Cannes Screenplay List, and the inaugural NYU Production Lab Development Studio.
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Eris is also a member of the BAFTA Newcomers program and the Stars Collective. As a natural multi-hyphenate, she holds MBA/MFA dual degrees from NYU's Stern and Tisch.
Award / Fellowship
2022
BAFTA Newcomers
Stars Collective
Mubi Wscripted Cannes Screenplay List
NYU Production Lab Development Studio
Raindance Screenwriting Fellowship
2021
2018 - 2020
Sundance x Women in Film Financing Strategy Intensive
Tisch School of the Arts Scholarship, NYU Grad Film Department
Education
2017 - 2020
MBA/MFA, New York University
2011 - 2013
BA in Media Studies, first-class distinction, University of Virginia
Summer 2012
Semester at Sea, Trans-Atlantic and Mediterranean
Fall 2010
Exchange Program, La Trobe University
2008 - 2010
English, East China Normal University