TZE CHUN | WRITER-DIRECTOR

Tze (pronounced "Z") Chun is a filmmaker working out of New York City and Los Angeles. He was born in Chicago and raised outside of Boston, and received his bachelor's degree in film studies at Columbia University. Tze's debut feature CHILDREN OF INVENTION premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, played over 50 festivals, and won 17 festival awards. It was released theatrically in 8 cities in 2010, and the New York Times called it "a fine feature debut."

Tze's short film WINDOWBREAKER, made for $600, was selected to play at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, as well as over thirty other high-profile international festivals. It won the audience award at the 2006 New York City Short Film Festival and best short film at the 2007 Vietnamese International Film Festival. That same year, Tze was selected to participate in Tribeca Film Festival’s All Access Program with his feature ARTIFICIAL DISSEMINATION and IFP’s No Borders International Co-Production Market with his feature YOU'RE A BIG GIRL NOW. In the summer of 2007, Tze was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 New Faces of Independent Film."

Along with his writing partner Mike Weiss, Tze served as a staff writer on Darren Star's ABC's Primetime Drama "Cashmere Mafia," created by Kevin Wade and starring Lucy Liu. The pair were hired for the show off their original pilot, "Getting in Good," a tongue-in-cheek drama set in the uber-competitive world of Manhattan private school admissions.

Tze is currently working on multiple writing and directing projects. His sci-fi short film SILVER SLING premiered at SXSW in March 2010 as part of ITVS's Futurestates series. His feature script YOU'RE A BIG GIRL NOW is based on the true life story of his mother, an orphan who was sold to Singaporean brothel and narrowly escaped a life of forced prostitution. Based on two years of research and interviews, Tze is reteaming with CHILDREN OF INVENTION producer Mynette Louie to develop the film. The project was selected for the 2009 Sundance Creative Producing Lab and Fellowship. Additionally, Tze is working with Mynette on NOWHEREVILLE, a dramedy, and EYE OF WINTER, a thriller that he co-wrote with Osgood Perkins and Nick Simon. Tze is also attached to co-direct a feature film adaptation of Will Eisner’s classic graphic novel, A CONTRACT WITH GOD, along with Alex Rivera (SLEEP DEALER) and Barry Jenkins (MEDICINE FOR MELANCHOLY).

Tze also works as a painter and visual artist. He is represented at CVZContemporary gallery in Soho, and has commissioned portraits in private residences in New York City, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston, and New Orleans. Tze also painted the original artwork for the poster of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's Academy-Award nominated HALF NELSON (THINKFilm) as well as the children's book drawings used in the film.


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