Bing Liu (filmmaker)
Bing Liu | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37) China |
| Alma mater | University of Illinois at Chicago |
| Occupations | Director, cinematographer |
| Years active | 2012–present |
Bing Liu (born 1989)[1] is a Chinese-American director and cinematographer. He is best known for directing the documentary Minding the Gap, which was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards.[2]
Born in China, he moved from Beijing to Tuskeegee, Alabama at age five, and then lived in Los Angeles before moving to Rockford, Illinois at age eight. In Rockford, Liu spent much time alone at home watching movies, learned to skateboard as an adolescent, and began filming his friends and fellow skaters as a teen. He attended the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Liu was named as United States Artists fellow in 2020, and in 2021, Liu and his co-director Joshua Altman won the jury award for Best Cinematography, Documentary Feature at the Tribeca Film Festival for his second documentary, All These Sons.
Early life and education
Liu was born in China.[2] Due to his mother enrolling at Tuskegee University in Alabama, his family moved from Beijing to the United States when he was five; soon after, his parents got divorced.[3] By age eight, Liu had lived in Los Angeles and Rockford, Illinois, where he spent much time at home alone, learned English by watching movies including Mortal Kombat, and first started skateboarding.[4]
Liu obtained American citizenship when he was 14 years old after his mother remarried. She had one son with his stepfather, a white American man. His stepfather was physically and mentally abusive, once shooting a gun at his mother.[2] He referred to Liu and his brother and mother using racial slurs and subjected them to various types of abuse.[2] Liu, his brother, and his mother spent some time in women's shelters.[4] Liu stated that he is no longer fluent in Mandarin as he once was because his stepfather did not let him and his mother communicate with each other using the language.[2]
He was first inspired by film-making after seeing First Love when he was 15, a video produced by Transworld Skateboarding Magazine that was mostly shot on 16 mm film. From then, he began interviewing skateboarders and learning about photography.[5]
He attended community college at Rock Valley College.[6] Liu left Rockford when he was 19[1] and then attended University of Illinois at Chicago where he majored in literature.[7][8]
Career
From 2012, he worked on various film sets, typically doing camera work.[7] Liu's first job on a major film was as a crew member for At Any Price.
His 2018 documentary film Minding the Gap was developed with Kartemquin Films. The film centered on himself and two other young men who were skateboarders in their hometown of Rockford, Illinois. The footage was shot over 12 years, beginning when Liu was 14, though it was only in his early 20s that he decided to make the documentary.[9][10] Liu is both a director and the subject of the film as he often speaks to his subjects from off camera.[5] The film deals heavily with domestic violence and toxic masculinity. It is the first feature film that he directed,[5] and it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards.
His second documentary feature, All These Sons, which focuses on gun violence in Chicago as it follows two Chicago-area programs targeting at-risk young men, was co-directed with Joshua Altman and premiered at the 2021 Tribeca Film Festival,[11] where Liu and Altman won the jury award for Best Cinematography, Documentary Feature.[12]
Liu worked as a segment director for America to Me, a documentary series released by Starz in 2018.[7] He has a forthcoming documentary project on millennial relationships.[9][7]
In 2025, Liu directed Preparation for the Next Life for Amazon MGM Studios.[13]
Awards and honors
In 2018, Liu's documentary Minding the Gap was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 91st Academy Awards.
In 2020, Liu was named a United States Artists (USA) fellow.[14]
In 2021, Liu and co-director Joshua altman won the jury award at the Tribeca Film Festival for Best Cinematography, Documentary Feature, for their documentary All These Sons.
References
- 1 2 Sachs, Ben (August 27, 2018). "An interview with Bing Liu about his powerful documentary Minding the Gap". Chicago Reader. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Jung, E. Alex (February 19, 2019). "Oscar-Nominated Minding the Gap Director Bing Liu on America's Masculinity Crisi". Vulture. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ↑ Metz, Nina (August 15, 2018). "A conversation with Bing Liu about his documentary 'Minding the Gap'". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- 1 2 "This DIY filmmaker made the 'Boyhood' of skateboarding". Huck. May 17, 2018. Retrieved April 10, 2026.
- 1 2 3 Wilkinson, Alissa (August 17, 2018). "How Minding the Gap went from skateboard documentary to a raw look at domestic abuse". Vox. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ↑ "Rock Valley professor on Bing Liu: 'He was always working'". WIFR. January 24, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- 1 2 3 4 Phillips, Michael (December 27, 2018). "Chicagoan of the Year: Bing Liu, Rockford filmmaker could make a splash at the Oscars". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ↑ Istrate, Alin (April 3, 2019). "For Academy Award-nominated director, 'UIC was the launch pad'". International University Alliance.
- 1 2 Wicker, Jewel (February 16, 2019). "'Minding the Gap' Director Looks to Chicago Prison and Millennial Relationships for Next Projects". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ↑ Lang, Cady (September 11, 2018). "Minding the Gap Director Discusses His Buzzy Hulu Documentary". Time. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
- ↑ Fienberg, Daniel (June 12, 2021). "'All These Sons': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (June 17, 2021). "Tribeca Festival Unveils 2021 Jury Award Winners". Indiewire. Retrieved July 19, 2022.
- ↑ Lattanzio, Ryan (July 17, 2025). "Fred Hechinger and Sebiye Behtiyar Are a Vet and an Immigrant in Love in 'Minding the Gap' Director Bing Liu's 'Preparation for the Next Life' — First Look". IndieWire. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
- ↑ "United States Artists » Bing Liu". Retrieved March 4, 2023.