Martha Burr graduated from Harvard College in 1985 and went on to receive her Ph.D. in American Studies at NYU in 1997. She moved to Los Angeles in 1992, where she directed music videos for record companies such as Interscope that aired on MTV. She also worked in other film production capacities as a writer, costumer, and production coordinator.
From 1997-2003 Burr was the Executive Editor of Kungfu magazine, where she became one of America’s leading experts on kungfu and other martial arts, and traveled extensively in China and Southeast Asia. Burr left publishing in 2003 to have a baby and work in documentary full time, becoming partners with Mei-Juin Chen in Lotus Films. Their recent project, Shaolin Ulysses:Kungfu Monks in America, which they co-directed and co-produced, aired nationally on PBS in October 2003. Burr is currently writing and co-producing a documentary on babies in collaboration with director Debby Takikawa and ER star Noah Wyle.
Mei-Juin Chen is a native of Taipei, Taiwan. After graduating from Taiwan University in 1989, she moved to Los Angeles, where she received an M.A. in Film and Anthropology at the University of Southern California. In 1993, she founded Lotus Film Productions and embarked on a career as a documentary filmmaker. Her award-winning work has been shown on broadcast television in the U.S., Asia and Europe, and at major international film festivals.
Her first film, Hollywood Hotel, explores the dreams and aspirations of a group of unconventional tenants at the former Hastings Hotel on Hollywood Boulevard’s historic Walk of Fame. Her next documentary, The Worlds of Mei Lanfang, on the life and art of the extraordinary Chinese Opera star, Mei Lanfang, debuted at the Berlin Film Festival in 2000. Her most recent project, Shaolin Ulysses: Kungfu Monks in America, co-directed by Martha Burr and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Independent Television Service (ITVS), aired nationally in prime time on PBS in October 2003. She currently is producing TV documentaries for Sony/Columbia Pictures and making a new documentary on ancient Chinese musical theater with support from the Taiwanese National Culture and Arts Foundation.
“SHAOLIN ULYSSES explores the cultural interface of Shaolin kungfu, Zen Buddhism and America. It also tells a story about the juxtaposition of East and West, past and future, and journeys both literal and metaphoric. Transformation is the central metaphor of Buddhism, and we believe the journey is the path to enlightenment. As filmmakers, we want to create a filmic journey for our audience, and hope that this hour-long voyage will be one small step towards discovery.”
