Lisa Lu Plays Herself

Making its world premiere at NYAFF, Lisa Lu Plays Herself intimately captures the life and legacy of a living legend entirely through her own words. Across eight extraordinary decades, Lisa Lu blazed trails from Hollywood opposite James Stewart to Hong Kong classics like The Arch and The 14 Amazons, continually redefining boundaries. Her candid recollections blend seamlessly with rare archival footage and insights from collaborators Ang Lee and Alan Chow. Now 98, recently honored as the oldest Hollywood Walk of Fame recipient, Lu embodies living history. This documentary, spanning Beijing opera beginnings to iconic roles in The Last Emperor and The Joy Luck Club, presents a masterclass from the master herself.

Legendary Chinese American actress and cultural icon Lisa Lu was born in Beijing and came to the US in 1947. From her early days as a Kunqu opera performer to her indelible impact on film and television in the U.S., Hong Kong, and mainland China, Lu has become a bridge between cultures, traditions, and generations. After moving to Los Angeles, she began her professional acting career in 1958 at the Pasadena Playhouse. Lu's screen debut came during the golden era of American television, and in 1960, she starred opposite Jimmy Stewart in The Mountain Road. Lu rose to prominence in the 1970s through Hong Kong cinema, winning three Golden Horse Awards, including Best Actress for The Arch (1970) and The Empress Dowager (1975), and Best Supporting Actress for The 14 Amazons (1972). She starred in The Last Emperor (1987), The Joy Luck Club (1993), Crazy Rich Asians (2018), American Born Chinese (2023) and Death and Other Details (2024). On May 5, 2025, Lisa Lu became the oldest person ever to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame—an honor befitting her status as a living legend of world cinema. She will be honored with two awards — the AANHPI Vanguard Award and the Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award — in recognition of a groundbreaking career spanning seven decades that has left an indelible mark on film history, not only entertaining and inspiring audiences but also elevating the cultural and artistic profile of Asian cinema on the world stage.

After graduating from National Taiwan University, Chen Mei-Juin moved to Los Angeles where she earned her master's degree in visual anthropology at the University of Southern California. In 1993, she founded Lotus Film Productions and produced a series of documentaries exploring iconic figures in both American and Chinese culture, including Hollywood Hotel (1994), which chronicles the eccentric tenants of a resident hotel on Hollywood Boulevard, and The Worlds of Mei Lanfang (2000), about the Peking opera legend. She is also known for a slew of martial arts documentaries including the PBS production The Black Kung Fu Experience, which spotlights several African American trailblazers such as Ron Van Clief. The Gangster's Daughter, her first narrative feature, played at NYAFF 2017. She is at NYAFF 2025 with Lucy Lu Plays Herself.