Hao Zhou is a filmmaker and photographer from Nanchuan, China. Zhou’s work often centers on people finding joy despite structural oppression.
In 2014, Zhou made his first feature, The Night, about young, queer sex workers in China. Premiering at the Berlinale, The Night won top prizes at Black Movie, Nara, China Independent, and others. In 2017, Zhou associate-produced a stage adaptation of The Night, performed to critical acclaim at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
Zhou is an alum of the Cannes' La Résidence, Berlinale Talents, and Talents Tokyo. He has worked in film development at Coproduction Office (Paris) and Douban.com (Beijing).
In 2021, Zhou made a Student Academy Award-winning short film, Frozen Out (Frameline, BFI Flare, NewFest). In 2023, Zhou's short doc Here, Hopefully was distributed by PBS, won Best Short at Doc10, and screened at Big Sky, Outfest, CAAMFest, BlackStar, Indie Memphis, Cleveland, and others. In 2024, Zhou's short doc Wouldn't Make It Any Other Way premiered at SXSW.
Currently Zhou is in production and postproduction on multiple projects, both narrative and nonfiction.
In 2014, Zhou made his first feature, The Night, about young, queer sex workers in China. Premiering at the Berlinale, The Night won top prizes at Black Movie, Nara, China Independent, and others. In 2017, Zhou associate-produced a stage adaptation of The Night, performed to critical acclaim at the Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre.
Zhou is an alum of the Cannes' La Résidence, Berlinale Talents, and Talents Tokyo. He has worked in film development at Coproduction Office (Paris) and Douban.com (Beijing).
In 2021, Zhou made a Student Academy Award-winning short film, Frozen Out (Frameline, BFI Flare, NewFest). In 2023, Zhou's short doc Here, Hopefully was distributed by PBS, won Best Short at Doc10, and screened at Big Sky, Outfest, CAAMFest, BlackStar, Indie Memphis, Cleveland, and others. In 2024, Zhou's short doc Wouldn't Make It Any Other Way premiered at SXSW.
Currently Zhou is in production and postproduction on multiple projects, both narrative and nonfiction.