Patrick Wang

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title: "Patrick Wang" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["living-people", "american-male-film-actors", "american-film-directors-of-taiwanese-descent", "american-male-writers", "american-people-of-chinese-descent", "year-of-birth-missing-(living-people)"] description: "American director and writer" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Wang" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American director and writer ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
birth_date	1976
citizenship	USA
education	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
yearsactive	2001–present
::

| image = | caption = | birthname = | birth_date = 1976 | birth_place = | citizenship = USA | education = Massachusetts Institute of Technology | othername = | occupation = | yearsactive = 2001–present | spouse = | website =

Patrick Wang is an American writer, director, and actor. His first feature film was the indie film In the Family which was released in 2011. He later directed the two-part indie film A Bread Factory in 2018.

Early life and education

Wang is a second-generation Taiwanese American. He was raised in Sugar Land, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in economics and a concentration in music and theater arts.

Career

As an economist, Wang has studied energy policy, game theory, and income inequality at the Federal Reserve Bank, the Harvard School of Public Health, and other organizations.

Film

His feature film directorial debut In The Family, which he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in, was nominated for a "Best First Feature" Independent Spirit Award, and received positive reviews from Roger Ebert, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Reader, Time Out Chicago, NOW Magazine, and was featured on several "Best of 2011" film lists. The film also won Best Narrative Feature awards at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, the Spokane International Film Festival, and the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, with Wang personally receiving awards at the festivals as well. For the film, Wang also was named by Filmmaker Magazine as one of the "25 New Faces of Independent Film".

His second feature film that he wrote and directed is entitled The Grief of Others (2015), based on the 2011 novel of the same name by Leah Hager Cohen. The film premiered at the 2015 South by Southwest Film Festival, and was released theatrically throughout France in August 2015 by ED Distribution under the title, Les Secrets des Autres.

His third feature, which was released in two parts, was A Bread Factory (2018), about a community arts center in the fictional town of Checkford, New York. In connection with a retrospective of Wang's films in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Phil Hoad in the Guardian wrote that "Wang’s films, seen together, showcase a civically minded vision that demands attention."

Wang has previously acted in, written, and produced short films such as Little Mary and Surveillances, and also acted in short films including Rushing River, Inherent Darkness and Enlightenment, and the 2005 feature film Headspace.

Theater

As a theater director, Wang has also specialized in the direction of classical verse drama. He directed the world premiere of Dianne Arnson Svarlien's translation of Medea.

He has also directed musicals, including Surviving the Nian. Wang has taught and directed productions at the Stella Adler Studio and the Neighborhood Playhouse.

He has authored a book of 75 original short monologue plays entitled The Monologue Plays.

Filmography

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Note
2011	In the Family
2015	The Grief of Others
2018	A Bread Factory, Part One: For the Sake of Gold
A Bread Factory, Part Two: Walk with Me a While				Also composer
TBA	A. Rimbaud				Post-production
::

Acting credits

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Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Inherent Darkness and Enlightenment	Businessman	Short film
2003	Surveillances	Mr. Li	Short film
2005	Headspace	Sammy
2006	Little Mary	Little Mary	Short film
Rushing River	Eric	Short film
2011	In the Family	Joey Williams
2023	Evil Sublet	Oliver
2024	A Different Man	Director
::

Other credits

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2003	Surveillances	Executive producer	Short film
2006	Little Mary	Writer and executive producer	Short film
2014	The Thinking Molecules of Titan	Writer	Short film
::

References

References

1. Chie, Ho. (2012-12-13). "Patrick Wang's Critically-acclaimed "In the Family" Opens in Select Cities".
2. Tafelski, Tanner. (June 23, 2015). "Interview: Patrick Wang".
3. Brunick, Paul. (November 3, 2011). "'In the Family,' From Patrick Wang - Review". The New York Times.
4. Abele, Robert. (May 4, 2012). "Review: 'In the Family' plays to the heart".
5. Jones, J. R.. (April 12, 2012). "In the Family".
6. "CRITICS".
7. (2011-11-15). "Film: Patrick Wang's Stunning Debut 'In The Family'".
8. Tully, Michael. (January 2, 2012). "A Conversation With Patrick Wang (IN THE FAMILY) – Hammer to Nail".
9. Savage, Sophia. (July 19, 2012). "Filmmaker Magazine Names '25 New Faces' of Indie Film; Patrick Wang Joins 36 Others, Including 14 Women".
10. Kohn, Eric. (February 3, 2015). "6 Highlights From the SXSW 2015 Lineup".
11. (2015-08-26). "ED Distribution - Les Secrets des autres". ED Distribution.
12. Chang, Justin. (25 October 2018). "Review: Patrick Wang's 'A Bread Factory' is a richly absorbing portrait of a community theater at a crossroads".
13. (2022-01-18). "The Films Of Patrick Wang, Coming To Select Cinemas From February 2022".
14. Hoad, Phil. (2022-02-17). "The Films of Patrick Wang review – impressive work from a tenacious truth-finder".
15. "The Monologue Plays".

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