2025 Visiting Filmmaker Series Cinema Studies proudly announces the 2025 Visiting Filmmaker Series with award-winning Director Sean Wang Screening of DÌDI (弟弟) and Q&A with Director Sean Wang Thursday, April 24 • 7 pm • Lawrence Hall 177 Free and Open to the Community Join cinema studies for a screening of Sean Wang’s 2024 feature film DÌDI (弟弟) followed by an in-person Q&A and reception with the award-winning writer and director. DÌDI (弟弟) | 2024 | 93 min | Rated R Didi is navigating his last summer before high school in this coming-of-age story. From attempting to flirt with girls, learning how to skate, and trying to get along with his mother, we see the effects of having an absent father and the anger and confusion this brings into this young teen’s life. Directing Masterclass with Sean Wang Friday, April 25 • 2 to 4 pm • Lawrence Hall 115 Open to UO Students • Priority to CINE Majors • Space is Limited Register to Attend by April 14th Sean Wang will share his creative process for developing and directing scenes from his independent feature DÌDI , including ideas and techniques for casting, blocking, and working collaboratively on set with both talent and crew. SEAN WANG wins BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards! Sean Wang is an Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker from the Bay Area. He began his career developing and directing commercials at Google Creative Lab. Since then, his work has screened at globally renowned film festivals including Sundance, SXSW, and TIFF. He is a former Sundance Ignite & TAAF fellow, and 2023 Sundance Screenwriters & Directors Lab Fellow. In 2024, he was named a BAFTA Breakthrough Artist and received the Sundance Vanguard Award for Fiction. His most recent short film, Nǎi Nai & Wài Pó (Grandma & Grandma), premiered at SXSW 2023 where it won the Grand Jury Prize & Audience Award and was acquired by Disney+. It went on to screen at dozens of film festivals worldwide, earning top honors at AFI Fest & SIFF, and was nominated for Best Documentary Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards. His feature directorial debut, Dìdi (弟弟), premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it won the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award, Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast, and was acquired by Focus Features for a global theatrical release. Sean was nominated by the DGA for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film and the film was named a New York Times Critics Pick, nominated for 4 Independent Spirit Awards, winning 2 for Best First Screenplay & Best First Feature, and was named one of the top ten independent films of 2024 by the National Board of Review. Acknowledgments The Department of Cinema Studies is honored to bring the tenth Harlan J. Strauss Visiting Filmmaker Series to Oregon, thanks to a generous gift by Harlan (PhD ’74) and Rima Strauss. This endowment enables Cinema Studies to bring industry filmmakers and emerging talents to mentor students and hold public conversations. This spring, award-winning director Sean Wang will mentor students in a directing masterclass and and participate in a screening and Q&A, hosted by Cinema Studies.
