Ran Jing
Animation Area Alum, Ran Jing (Class of 2011), has been accepted into the AFI DWW+ Class of 2026, where she will be developing and directing her new short film, Imprint.
Born and raised in China, Ran Jing is an award-winning writer and director renowned for blending genre with character-driven and inclusive storytelling.
A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Jing’s short films have been celebrated at prestigious film festivals worldwide. Her debut feature, Model, received critical acclaim and earned awards at several Academy Award®– and BAFTA-qualifying film festivals, including the Emerging Director Award at the Edmonton International Film Festival, the New Talent Award at the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival and honors at the 43rd Asian American International Film Festival. Featured in Variety’s China edition, Model had a theatrical release in China in October 2021 through United Entertainment and later became available on streaming platforms such as iQiyi, Tencent, Viki and Smart Cinema.
Before transitioning to live-action filmmaking, Jing began her career as a storyboard artist at Blue Sky Studios in Connecticut. She contributed to acclaimed animated features such as Spies in Disguise, Ferdinand (Academy Award® nominee), the Ice Age franchise, the Rio franchise, and The Peanuts Movie (Golden Globe nominee). She later joined Strange Weather Films, where she worked on the Annie Award-nominated animated feature Wish Dragon, which was released on Netflix.
Drawing from her extensive experience in both Hollywood and China, Jing crafts narratives that explore universal themes of identity, immigration and belonging. Her scripts have won the ISA Fast Track Fellowship, received CineStory Scholarships, ranked in the Top 100 of the Launch Pad Feature Competition, and advanced to the semifinals of the Nicholl Fellowships. She has also advanced to the second round in both the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and the Austin Film Festival’s Script Competition. Additionally, she has written mini-series for Viu TV in Hong Kong and a feature film for Ruyi Films.
A proud member of the Writers Guild of America and Film Fatales, Jing is currently developing her second feature film, A Profiled Life.
