Fu Ding Cheng
1943 Artist
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Biography
FuDing Cheng received formal training as an architect as USC and UC Berkeley. He has worked as a cook in a Chinese restaurant, an attendant in a psychiatric ward, and a designer of mob scenes for the San Francisco Opera Company. Current an art instructor at UCLA and a graphic artist for New West magazine, FuDing was a recent recipient of an American Film Institute grant [ca. 1977] to complete an experimental documentary on the Tibetan Book of the Dead. [Source: Filmforum program notes, 4/4/1977] Fu-Ding Cheng's career began as a practicing architect and painter. Sincethen he has written, directed and/or produced fifteen films ranging from documentaries to mystical adventure stories. His prize-winning series of allegorical tales have been shown under the title of "Zen-Tales for the Urban Explorer." They have been inspired by his long-term involvement with spiritual and shamanic practices which are the source of the rich, magical worlds that fill his films.His most recent film "The Winged Cage" won a gold prize at the Houston International Film Festival. He is now launching a feature film "A Time of Miracles" about a man who falls in love with a woman from another time dimension. It is based on his direct experiences derived from shamanic power journeys conducted in Mexico and the United States. [Source: IMDB biographical entry for Cheng as of 5/28/09]