Name: Gene Wang
Graduation Year: 2020 
Feature Track or TV Track: TV Track
Contact Email: geneluwang@gmail.com

Bio: Growing up, Gene voraciously devoured stories across genre and culture, from Taiwanese period dramas to Shakespeare to Desperate Housewives to Tolkien. After graduating UC Berkeley cum laude with degrees in English and Media Studies, Gene spent nine years in tech designing interactive toys and games for studios in Silicon Valley and New York. During this time, he also became heavily involved in LGBTQ+ activism, serving on the Board of Directors for 501c nonprofit Out in Tech.

But something was missing, and he couldn't figure out what. And so, in true millennial fashion, Gene embraced his inner cliché, quit his full-time job, and enrolled in a 10-day silent meditation course in Burma. This sparked a four-month "eat gay love" across Asia, during which he found himself reconnecting with his roots and rediscovering his creative voice.

Upon his return, Gene took his first stab at screenwriting and soon found himself returning to school for his MFA. His first UCLA feature screenplay placed as a Quarterfinalist in the 2019 Academy Nicholl, and his latest drama pilot is currently in the 2nd round of the 2020 Sundance Episodic Lab. Gene is also in postproduction for his first short, directed by the talented Jacqueline Chan. 

Short Artist Statement: Through my work, I hope to elucidate my particular slice of the queer Asian American experience and to do so through both pathos and humor. Like many others, I grew up believing that being queer and being Asian were somehow mutually exclusive identities. This led to a fractured double consciousness that often imbues my characters and informs their central struggles. It's also a personal goal of mine that with every script I write, I'm tackling some kind of gender, racial, or cultural stereotype and continually pushing the boundaries of what's considered "normal." After all, isn't that what art is for?

Logline #1: PLAYMATEZ, INC - Half-Hour Comedy - A workplace sitcom set in a quirky, family-owned toy company in Silicon Valley. Abandoned by their notoriously private founder, the eclectic team must now find a way to save their beloved company from financial ruin. Could David—their newest, bright-eyed, whiz-kid intern—hold the key?

Logline #2: KARMA, BITCH - Half-Hour Dramedy - Once the most pious of monks, lifetimes ago, Zang's latest reincarnation is that of a sassy, narcissistic businessman in LA. When a strange vision appears to him during a meditation retreat, Zang learns that if he doesn't turn his life around within one year, he'll spend eternity...as a pig.

Logline #3:  PRINCE AI AND THE GUZHENG - Feature Drama - An animated musical feature about a queer prince who’s long suppressed his gift of music to conform to his culture’s notions of masculinity. When a mysterious traveling musician teaches him how to master a magical guzheng, he must decide if he’ll wield his newfound power for revenge...or for love.

Name three movies or TV shows that inspire you: Fleabag, Schitt's Creek, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

NEXT