The Black Kungfu Experience

Martha Burr has worked extensively in Asia for the last 10 years. She and partner Mei-Juin Chen produced and directed Shaolin Ulysses in 2003, a documentary that followed the journeys of five kungfu fighting monks to America; the film premiered on the PBS series Independent Lens. Subsequently they produced and directed Kungfu Secrets (2008), a documentary film for National Geographic Channel International about kungfu in Taiwan, and another National Geographic film, Super Yachts. Martha has lived in Los Angeles since 1992, where she directed numerous music videos that aired on MTV. She also worked in television and films as a writer, costumer, and production coordinator. In 1997, Martha was named the Executive Editor of Kungfu Magazine, where she became known as one of the leading experts on kungfu and other martial arts, was a consultant and talking head on History Channel and Animal Planet productions, and traveled at length in China and Southeast Asia. In 2005, Martha wrote and produced an award-winning documentary on the consciousness of babies called What Babies Want, in collaboration with ER star Noah Wyle. A graduate of Harvard College, Martha received her Ph.D. in American Studies at NYU in 1997.

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 Visual Anthropology at the University of Southern California. In 1993, she founded Lotus Film Productions and embarked on a career as a documentary filmmaker, pursuing projects in Taiwan, China, and the United States. Her award-winning work has appeared on television in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, and at major international film festivals. Her first documentary, Hollywood Hotel (16mm), was shown in competition at the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and at Vision du Réel in Néon, Switzerland. Her next documentary, The Worlds of Mei Lanfang (Betacam), debuted at the Berlin Film Festival in 2000 and was honored by Women in Film. Partnered with Martha Burr, she made two documentaries: Shaolin Ulysses: Kungfu Monks in America, which aired nationally on PBS’s Emmy award-winning Independent Lens series in 2003; and Taiwan's Kungfu Secrets, commissioned by National Geographic Channel, was aired internationally in 2008 and 2009. Her 2007 documentary feature, Woman of the Southern Wind, won The Chris Statuette Award at Columbus International Film and Video Festival. In 2000, Ms. Chen received the Most Outstanding Asian Artist Special Award from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the Chinese American Arts Council, and New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs.