Louise Zhang

2024 Diverso Fellow
New York University

SUMMER EMBERS
Logline: In 2005, a precocious 12-year-old only child reluctantly leaves her cushy Shanghai home to spend a summer in her grandparents’ rural village, where she learns about love and awakens to both the fortune and misfortune of being born a girl.

Louise is a Chinese-born, New York-based writer, director, and cinematographer. Her work explores the experiences of individuals who exist between cultures and landscapes, traversing boundaries of distance, time, and history in pursuit of happiness. A 2022 Volker Bahnemann Finalist for Outstanding Cinematography, Louise blends an Eastern sensibility with Western storytelling, evoking universal emotions through specific, personal narratives. Her films have screened at festivals worldwide, including Palm Springs, HollyShorts, and the Cairo International Film Festival.