Meet Zheng Nathan Nie | Filmmaker & Film Festival Programmer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zheng Nathan Nie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zheng Nathan, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factor behind my success has been my willingness to be a jack-of-all-trades, which a lot of people consider to be a weakness. Being a young filmmaker often means having to do the jobs of many departments on one’s own. I had a cinematography/G&E background before I started concentrating on writing and directing when I got into the UCLA Film School. I also know the basics of editing and color correction. On the production of my short film, Submerged, which currently has more than one million views on YouTube, I was the writer, the director, and the cinematographer all at once. I also wrote, directed, and colored my most recent short film, Strangers, which played at Dam Shorts Film Festival and the Poppy Jasper International Film Festival. My ability to wear multiple hats really helped me to push these projects through the finish lines. And I also enjoyed each unique creative process, which was part of the reason why I loved filmmaking in the first place.

On top of that, in 2019, I put on another “hat” as an Associate Programmer of Santa Fe International Film Festival. As someone who had been submitting his works to many film festivals, I’d always wondered what their selection processes might look like. The film festival circuit can be very challenging for independent filmmakers to navigate so being able to be on the other side really informs my filmmaking. And, of course, as a cinephile, this is a dream job.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As a filmmaker, I started filmmaking journey since my first day at Michigan State University in 2008 as an undergrad majoring in Media Arts. In 2017, upon graduating from the UCLA MFA Directing program, I won the UCLA Directors Spotlight award with my thesis film, A Proper Burial (Rest In Peace), which was screened at the DGA theater. In 2018, my film, House of the Lonesome Human Beings, won Best Screenplay at Dam Short Film Festival. The Way Home, a short film I wrote about the parallel lives of a Chinese-American teenager and his illegal immigrant father’s distinctive yet similar struggles, was selected by majoy film festivals like Shanghai International Film Festival and Santa Barbara International Film Festival. Submerged, a gay short he wrote and directed, currently has more than one million views on YouTube.

I’m also an Associate Programmer of Santa Fe International Film Festival and a jury member of the Santa Fe Film Institute’s Granting Committee. I served as a jury member of the 2021 Tampa Bay Gay & Lesbian Film Festival. I am on the Board of Directors of Asian Professional Exchange (APEX), one of the most prominent AAPI organizations in Southern California with more than 6,000 members.

My focus as a filmmaker has been on making short films and commercials, and writing feature screenplays about the Chinese, and Chinese-American communities, intergenerational conflict, sexual orientation, LGBTQ issues, and racial discrimination. My works have always been a combination of a few of the topics I mentioned rather than just one. I believe that intersectionality not only gives my works the complexity that’s true to reality but also makes better stories. This has been the core of my creative process.

Being from China without any art background has made it difficult at times but it has also taught me to find the tenacity in me and that it’s okay to feel defeated and disappointed sometimes, but the only way forward is to keep writing and making new things despite the highs and lows.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
A hike to the Griffith, which is especially iconic to many film lovers like myself, followed by a short drive to the Korean Town for a k-bbq lunch. A walk on Venice Beach in the afternoon, which I think is what the current-day LA lifestyle is all about. Get some ramen in Sawtelle then catch a movie, maybe Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, at The New Beverly Cinema. That’s just a special experience for anyone who loves movies and culture. Then, finish the day at a bar at Sunset and La Brea named Adults Only. It’s a movie-themed one-day stroll mixed with some of the best Asian food one can find in the entire country.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m on the Board of Directors of Asian Professional Exchange (APEX), one of the oldest AAPI nonprofit organizations in Southern California. I’d like to give a special shoutout to APEX because of its openness to support each member’s passion. I’m in the film industry, which is one of the most prominent professional industries in SoCal. I was able to put together two film-related collaborations with the support of the APEX board this year: sponsoring Strong Asian Lead’s Flower Drum Song screening and the first-ever UCLA API Film Night, both in May, the AAPI Heritage Month. APEX also gives me a chance to be more engaged in the AAPI community in general. I’ve helped organize multiple career development and social events as well as collaborations with other nonprofit organizations since I joined the board last year. It has been an extremely fulfilling experience.

I also want to give a shoutout to the Santa Fe Film Institute, which hosts the Santa Fe International Film Festival. Being an Associate Programmer for the festival and a jury member of the institute’s grant committee has given me the chance to show my support to many underrepresented filmmakers of the BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, my own communities. I’m very proud of the work we do.

Website: https://www.nathannie.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/natenfilm/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zheng-nie/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nateniesfilmlog8553

Image Credits
Image 1 & 4: by Tommy Ton; Image 2: Screen Shot from Short Film, Strangers Image 3: Screen Shot from Short Film, Submerged Image 5: by Summer Yang Image 6: Screen Shot from Short Film, House of the Lonesome Human Beings Image 7: by Christopher Chen