Eric Yang
FSU Film School
How often is the plight of the migrant worker explored in film? Z. Eric Yang, a graduate student at the FSU Film School, takes on the challenge with his short film The State of Sunshine. Yang is working towards his Master’s Degree in Fine Arts & Motion Picture Production and thus far has had his hand in many fields of film production and the arts such as directing, producing, editing, and photography.
Yang was born in Shanghai, China in 1976 at the end of the Cultural Revolution. He demonstrated exceptional promise as a youth, excelling in both mathematics and speech, which earned him admission into the Special Class of Teenagers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He traveled to the U.S. in 1999 on a scholarship to the University of Memphis, earning his Master’s in Film & Video in 2003. Recently, he also was presented the bi-annual $5000 Pathfinder Award by Florida Commerce Credit Union, given to graduate students for the purpose of continuing their degree work. Yang uses his award to aid in the production his films.
Yang’s decision to study film production came gradually. As a teenager in China he would enjoy watching television dramas that he compares to the hit HBO Series The Sopranos. Although he was fascinated by films, it wasn’t until his later years that he would decide to pursue his passion. In his home country, he earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering before formally studying film in the U.S.
The State of Sunshine depicts the life of an illegal immigrant family, and focuses on the son A-Dan and his sister Lily. Upon their arrival, they view life in the U.S. with fervent optimism. But when financial hardship befalls the family, Lily is forced into prostitution and they soon come to realize the disparity between their sad reality and their grand expectations. Yang adds, “However, when a small incident rekindles Lily’s hope, she opens her youthful eyes and tries to embrace it one more time. Her sense of hope and future terrifies A-Dan. Having lost hope in the country, he convinces Lily that whatever she saw was nothing but a pipe dream, and they as illegal immigrants can only surrender to their fate. Just as A-Dan realizes he has made a mistake, he will soon find out that it was one that may cost him his entire world.” The film takes a stab at the “American dream” while also expressing the view of America from the eyes of an outsider. The film was chosen by the audience as their overall favorite out of other screenings presented that night in the packed Ruby Diamond Auditorium.
Currently, Yang is working on the production of his second feature screenplay.