The Crew
GEOFF SIMS
Astronomer
Dr. Geoff Sims is an astronomer based in Sydney, Australia. Geoff obtained his PhD in 2013, specializing in astronomy from Antarctica. During that time he helped to establish a new terahertz observatory at the coldest and driest place on Earth: Ridge A. Outside of academia, Geoff is an extremely passionate astro photographer, regularly travelling the globe to observe and photograph solar eclipses. Geoff has been involved in outreach and communication for over 10 years, and currently also works casually as an astronomy guide at the historic Sydney Observatory. You can follow his photography expeditions on Facebook, Twitter (@beyond_beneath), Instagram, Vimeo and the Web.
NELSON QUAN
Director
Nelson Quan is a Chinese-American filmmaker based in Beijing, China. His most recent work was at Pixomondo*, working as the lead editor on a documentary/web-series project with Volkswagen called “The People’s Car Project,” which won the Golden Lion award at the 2013 Cannes film festival.
He got his start working as a production intern on Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns movie in 2005. Later he edited a Chinese remake of Hollywood’s “What Women Want” starring two of China’s biggest stars: Andy Lau and Gong Li. You can see his works here.
*Pixomondo is winner of the 84th Academy Award ® for Best Visual Effects 2011 for Hugo; also the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards ® for Outstanding Special Visual Effects 2012 for Game of Thrones.
Original music score by the legendary Derek Zhao
As an American film and TV composer living in Beijing, Derek Zhao creates music that can only result from the unique intersection of his cinematic “Hollywood” training with his experiences discovering and living in Asia. Derek imbues his music with not only an energy, scale, and emotional intensity fit for the big screen but also his passion for new age and world music. “Cinematic new age,” he likes to think of it as.
Legends of a Goddess, Derek’s latest release and his most ambitious project to date, exemplifies this concept. Commissioned by the Beijing Dance Drama and Opera and performed by the Asian Philharmonic Orchestra with an ensemble of ethnic Chinese instruments, Legends of a Goddess combines Derek’s cinematic technique with his fascination for traditional Chinese culture.
Derek’s music has been featured in Jaguar, Audi, and Volkswagen advertising campaigns in China and is also regularly heard on China Central Television, notably documentary series China Insight and numerous TV movies. Outside of television, his pieces have been performed by the Beijing Dance Drama and Opera, Houston Ballet Academy, and Houston Ballet II.. More recently, Derek has been composing for feature films, two of which will be in theaters later this year: Broken Bureau starring Bowie Lam and Deathday Party starring Anita Yuen and Archie Kao.