Julia Kwan (b. 1966) comes from a family of Chinese immigrants who settled in Canada (her father worked in a restaurant and her mother in a laundry, like the parents in her debut film). She studied film and psychology at Ryerson University in Toronto, where her student films were already being recognised. After graduation, she worked in San Francisco before moving back to Vancouver, where she shot several shorts including the experimental Prized Possessions (1997) and 10,000 Delusions (1999). Her short film drama Three Sisters on Moon Lake (2001) won Audience Awards in Toronto, Sao Paulo, Brasilia and Arkansas. Her screenplay for her feature film debut Eve & the Fire Horse won the Charles Israel Screenwriting Prize awarded by the Canadian Writers' Guild, and the film itself won Special Jury Prize at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival.
MFF Karlovy Vary
