Mass Communication
and Theatre
Huixia Lu
Assistant Professor of Digital Filmmaking
Education
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
MFA Film and Media Arts, August 2004
Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin China
BA English, August 1993
Professional Experience
University of Central Arkansas, Department of Mass Communication, Conway, AR
Assistant Professor, August 2004-Present
Undergraduate courses: Documentary Production, Narrative Fiction Filmmaking, Cinema History, TV Studio. Graduate courses: Cinematography, Directing Workshop.
Temple University, Department of Film and Media Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Adjunct Lecturer/Teaching Assistant, August 2000-May 2004
Undergraduate courses: 16mm Filmmaking, Videography, Film and Media Arts I, II.
Scribe Video Center, Philadelphia, PA
Production Facilitator for the Precious Places Oral History Project, February-May 2004
Harbin Television Station, International Department, Heilongjiang Province, P.R. China
Journalist/Documentary Filmmaker, January 1997-July 2000
Wrote, directed, and edited documentaries concerning social issues and cultural phenomena. Collaborated with producers from domestic and international television networks including CCTV (China Central Television), Phoenix TV in HongKong, NHK in Japan, and KLTJ Television in Houston, Texas.
Harbin Television Station, News Department, Heilongjiang Province, P.R. China
Journalist for a ten-minute Television primetime newsmagazine (comparable to CBS’ 60 Minutes), August 1993-December 1996
Produced, wrote and edited investigative reports on social problems, including farmland occupied illegally by local officials, street children abandoned by divorced parents, poor and talented students struggling their way to universities, historic buildings in danger of being demolished, etc.
Major Honors and Awards
• Kodak Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at Cannes International Film Festival 2003
• Golden Bridge Award granted by the Chinese National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (Chinese equivalent of a national “Emmy” award) 2002
• First Prize in documentary, NextFrame International Film & Video Festival 2002
• Regional Finalist, Student Academy Awards 2003
• Finalist, ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Dore Schary Awards 2002
• Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2002
• UFVA Award of Merit Competition for Faculty work 2004
• Broadcast by American Public Television 2002-2005
• Broadcast by CCTV (China Central Television) 1996-2000
• Broadcast by HongKong Phoenix TV in China, North America, Europe1999-2000
• Grant from University of Central Arkansas Research Council 2005
• 17th Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2008
• Arkansas Humanities Council film and video peer review panel 2008
• Grant from the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority 2008
Equipment Proficiency
Film Production:
Cameras – Super 16mm Aaton Minima and LTR; 16mm Bolex, CP-16, Arriflex SR
Lighting – Lowell DP kit, Omni kit, Tota, gels and diffusion, light meters
Sound Equipment – Sync Nagra, DAT recorder, various microphones
Editing – Flatbed editing
Video Production:
Cameras – HD and standard digital video cameras
Studio – Three-camera w/live switching, control room, lighting grid
Computer – Avid, Final Cut Pro, Photoshop
Professional Associations
UFVA – University of Film and Video Association
Arkansas Humanities Council
IFP – Independent Feature Project
AIVF – Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers 2003-2004
PIFVA – Philadelphia Independent Film and Video Association 2002-2004
Chinese Documentaries Association 1997-2000
Chinese Journalist Association 1994-2000
Selected Filmography
2006-2009 Work-In-Progress Party of One, An Idealist’s Grueling Run for Governor
Producer, Writer, Director, Editor, Videographer
A feature-length documentary about the first independent candidate for Governor of Arkansas since 1940. Seventy hours of footage has been shot over a span of two years. I plan to finish post-production in 2009.
2007-2008 Is you is…The Louis Jordan Story – HD Video, feature-length documentary
Director of Photography
Louis Jordan is an African-American legend in the music world and one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is hardly known in his home state and his musical legacy is barely recognized in his hometown of Brinkley, Arkansas.
• Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival 2008
2003-2004 When I was Young – Super-16 mm, 15:00 minutes narrative fiction
Producer, Writer, Director, Editor, Cinematographer
Chronicles the emotional journey over the course of one night of a Chinese woman living in the United States. As she drives through the city of Philadelphia—ghetto, boathouses, gentrified center city, China town—the sensations and pains of awakening to young love in China keep flashing back, in contrast to the staleness and isolation of her present married life. A lyrical portrait of a still young woman under the influence of memories, environments, and situations, the film is a reflection of mood and moment.
• UFVA Award of Merit Competition for Faculty work 2004
• PIFVA Cash Subsidy Grant 2004
• Broadcast by WYBE- TV 35 (PBS) in the Great Philadelphia Area 2003
• Completion Grant from WYBE- TV 35 (PBS) 2002
2002-2003 Alice Liu’s Adventures in America – DV, 26:00 minutes. documentary
Writer, Director, Editor, Videographer, Sound Recorder/designer
Describes a six-year-old Chinese girl’s first experience in the United States. We see her family’s struggle to function under economic and social pressure, played out in a single day. The film subtly explores topics such as individual and national identity and a child’s struggle to understand and comply with the rules of the adult world.
• Kodak Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at Cannes International Film Festival 2003
• Regional Finalist, Student Academy Awards 2003
• Tokyo American Center, Tokyo International Community House, and Tokyo International Forum screenings 2003
• Film Festival Travel Grant from Temple University 2003
• First Prize in documentary, NextFrame International Film & Video Festival 2002
• Finalist, ADL (Anti-Defamation League) Dore Schary Awards 2002
• Broadcast by WYBE- TV 35 (PBS) in the Great Philadelphia Area 2002
• International House Theater screening, Philadelphia, PA 2002
• UFVA Conference screening, Ithaca, NY 2002
• Completion Grant from WYBE- TV 35 (PBS) 2001
• Production Grant from Film and Media Arts Department, Temple University 2001
2001 Memory - 16mm, black & white, 5:00 minutes. experimental
Writer, Director, Editor, Cinematographer, Sound Recorder/Designer
Explores memories of a woman – her joy as a child and her expectations as a teenager – from the standpoint of her present as a lonesome and disillusioned bride. As the sensations and impressions from her past interplay with her life in the present tense, she mourns that these precious moments have passed her by.
• ADA Gallery Screening, Richmond VA 2006
• Phoenix Art Museum exhibition, Phoenix, AZ 2005
• The Echo Park Film Center screening, Los Angeles 2005
• Broadcast by WYBE- TV 35 (PBS) in the Great Philadelphia Area 2004
• Prince Music Theater screening, Philadelphia, PA 2002 and 2003
• UFVA conference screening, Columbia, SC 2003
• Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival 2002
• Bloor Cinema & Innis Town Hall screenings, Toronto, Canada 2002
• Production Grant from Temple University 2001
2000 Ice Sculpture - Beta, 10:00 minutes. documentary
Writer, Director, Editor, Co-Videographer
Closely follows two of the twenty ice sculpture teams competing over three days under 14F during the national ice sculpture competition on the most historic street in Harbin, China known worldwide for its Snow and Ice Festival. One team opts for a traditional style—a dragon of exquisite craftsmanship, while the other takes a modern approach by introducing new materials—raw wood and red cloth—into a geometric ice sculpture.
• Golden Bridge Award granted by the China National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 2000
• Broadcast by CCTV and HK Phoenix TV in China, America and Europe 2000
1999 Apocalypse of War—Interview with the First Chinese Nuclear Submarine Designer-Beta, 15:00 minutes documentary
Writer, Director, Editor
Prompted by NATO’s bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade during its attack on Yugoslavia in 1999, the filmmaker interviews a leading military scientist of the Cold War era in China, whose life achievements are placed against the historic background of China’s strategic position caught in the hostility of both the USSR and USA. With generous use of archival images combined with old popular songs of the 1950s through 1980s, the film represents the vivid social and political context and ideology of the post-WWII era that have shaped individuals and a nation.
• Second Prize of Provincial Journalism Awards granted by Heilongjiang Province Journalist Association 1999
1998 The Flood of the Songhua River in 1998 - Beta, 30:00 minutes documentary
Writer, Director, Editor
Reflects on this natural disaster and the people caught in tragedy. Human endurance is tested as the film focuses on one family as they attempt to get their lives back on track with help from the community.
• Second Prize of Provincial Broadcasting Awards granted by Heilongjiang Province Broadcasting Association 1998
1997 Morning Tune Along the River Bank - Beta, color, 5:00 minutes documentary
Writer, Director, Editor
Displays a panorama of events and activities along the Songhua River, which flows through the city of Harbin: jogging, swimming, Taiji, Kongfu, dancing, singing, playing musical instruments, peddling, grocery shopping at open markets. The film offers a glimpse into a day in the life of China. As the river flows to the east, the sun rises in the morning.
• First Prize of Municipal Broadcasting Awards granted by Harbin Broadcasting Association 1997
• Broadcast by KLTJ Television in Houston TX 1998
Panels and Papers:
Voices From Arkansas: How to Teach a Documentary Production Class, UFVA Conference at Colorado College in 2008
Teaching Short Narrative Fiction Film, UFVA Conference at Chapman University in 2006
Teaching Video the Film Way, UFVA Conference at Columbia College Chicago in 2005
Grants:
Grant from the Arkansas Science & Technology Authority 2008
Grant from Arkansas Humanity Council 2007
Grant from University of Central Arkansas Research Council 2005
Completion Grant from WYBE- TV 35 (PBS) 2002
PIFVA Cash Subsidy Grant 2004