Haolu Wang

In this Chinese name, the family name is Wang.

Haolu Wang
王昊鹭
Born
Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Film and television director
  • Screenwriter

Haolu Wang (Chinese: 王昊鹭; pinyin: Wáng Hàolù) is a BAFTA-nominated Chinese director and screenwriter. She has created several short films and directed episodes for television shows including Black Mirror and Doctor Who.

Early life and education

Wang was born in Xuzhou, Jiangsu.[1] She learned English as a child by watching television and buying pirated DVDs on the weekends, including Léon: The Professional and the Three Colours trilogy.[1] She later attended Fudan University in Shanghai.[2]

In 2006 she enrolled at Colby College in Maine, graduating in 2010 with degrees in government and economics. Her first job after graduation was at an investment firm in Hong Kong, during which she bought DVDs on her lunch breaks to watch after work.[3] Disliking the financial world, she was inspired to quit her banking job of two years to become a filmmaker after watching Ingmar Bergman's Persona (1966).[1] She attended the film program at Prague Film School, where Jiří Menzel became her mentor, and the program at London Film School.[3][4]

Flip Flops (2015) was Wang's first short film, shot in Hong Kong with a crew of locals and students from Hong Kong Baptist University.[1] It became her submission for admission into a master's degree at the National Film and Television School (NFTS) in Beaconsfield, England.[2] In 2017, Wang received a BAFTA scholarship towards her degree at NFTS, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts degree in Directing Fiction in 2019.[5][3]

Film and television career

Wang worked on the script for My Best Friend's Wedding, a 2016 romantic comedy starring Shu Qi.[4]

The short film The Pregnant Ground was Wang's graduation project at NFTS. Shot in London and Beaconsfield, it starred Huang Lu as a woman who, following her miscarriage, believes the rising ground underneath her apartment is going to give birth. The short film premiered at the 2019 Palm Springs International ShortFest.[6][7]

Her first feature film in development is A Monster in the Lake, a psychological drama featuring magical realism elements.[8] It received the ArteKino International Award at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2021.[9][10]

Following the release of Doctor Who's thirteenth series, Wang directed the second of three 2022 specials, "Legend of the Sea Devils".[11] The next year, she co-directed the Netflix show Bodies with Marco Kreuzpaintner, directing the second half of the miniseries.[3] For Bodies, Wang was nominated for the Best Emerging Talent in Fiction award at the 2024 British Academy Television Craft Awards.

In 2025, she directed "Hotel Reverie", an episode in the seventh series of Black Mirror, starring Issa Rae and Emma Corrin. She was nominated for a NAACP Image Award for her work on the episode. [12] Wang, whose episode dealt with the use of artificial intelligence in film production, said she hoped that "people will realise AI is terrible for creativity", and that she was against "the cruelty of AI in reducing people, humanity and actors to just data points".[3]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Notes
2013 Labyrinth of a Dream Short film
2014 Being James Short film
2015 Flip Flops Short film
2016 Emma Short film
2017 The Blender Short film
2018 Lao Wai Short film
2019 The Pregnant Ground Short film

Television

Year Title Episode(s)
2022 Doctor Who Episode: "Legend of the Sea Devils"
2023 Bodies Episodes 5–8
2025 Black Mirror Episode: "Hotel Reverie"

References

  1. ^ a b c d Jin Lu (12 May 2025). "25岁女子放弃投行高薪转行拍电影，37岁执导好莱坞电影火出圈". Guyu Lab (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 12 May 2025. Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  2. ^ a b Qiu Guangyu (12 May 2025). "神剧《黑镜》，迎来中国导演！". China Newsweek (in Chinese). Retrieved 24 March 2026.
  3. ^ a b c d e Chak, Ashlyn (27 April 2025). "How was Black Mirror's Hotel Reverie made? Director on AI, love of old films". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  4. ^ a b Sykes, Claire (2015). "Change of Direction: Haolu "Lulu" Wang traded Finance for the Lens of Filmmaking". Colby Magazine. Vol. 104, no. 2. pp. 46–47. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  5. ^ "BAFTA Scholars in 2017" (PDF). BAFTA.org. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 March 2026.
  6. ^ MarBelle (18 October 2019). "The Pregnant Ground by Haolu Wang". Directors Notes. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  7. ^ "The Pregnant Ground". Palm Springs International Film Society. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  8. ^ "2020 SIFF PROJECT A Dutiful Wife wins award in Rotterdam". Shanghai International Film Festival. 10 February 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  9. ^ Meza, Ed (5 February 2021). "IFFR Pro Awards Celebrate Greek, Afghan, Chinese, Vietnamese, Dutch Projects". Variety. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  10. ^ Macnab, Geoffrey. "Four hot projects at Rotterdam's online CineMart". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  11. ^ Fullerton, Huw. "Doctor Who confirms new writer and director for Jodie Whittaker's next special". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
  12. ^ White, Abbey (15 April 2025). "Issa Rae, Awkwafina, and 'Black Mirror' Director Unpack the Horrors and Longing in Rebellious Queer AI Love Story "Hotel Reverie"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 March 2026.
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