With an approach situated somewhere between the hyper-synthesized and the near-documentary, Dorothea Sing Zhang’s filmmaking taps into the curiosity of practical surrealism. She obtained her Bachelor’s degree from the Slade School of Fine Art at University College London, and pursued further film studies in Denmark at the École de Leth, where she studied under Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth, and Thomas Vinterberg.

In 2024, she wrote and directed Masterpiece Mommy (2024), a short musical film starring Leah Dou that premiered in competition at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival, received a European Film Award nomination at Dokufest, and is now shortlisted for the 2026 European Film Awards. Her follow-up short, A Small Fiction of my Mother in Beijing (2025), premiered in competition at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival. Her latest short, As a Cure (2026), will premiere at Locarno Film Festival this August.

Dorothea is now in development for her feature film, Anxious to Please.
Filmography
2025 A Small Fiction Of My Mother in Beijing
2024 Masterpiece Mommy