Mona Mengnan Chu is a Chinese-born writer, director, and producer based in New York. She began her career in journalism at the age of 18, working as a reporter and editor at China Central Television. She later joined Financial Times columnist Danei Xu — a SOPA Award winner and CEO of Newrank — as an editor focused on opinion and current affairs. These early years in journalism shaped her sensibility for human stories and social undercurrents.
She then spent five years at Hunan TV, one of China’s most influential television studios, serving as a creative executive, writer, and director. During that time, she developed 13 documentary-style reality series and directed 97 episodes for major streaming platforms such as Mango TV, iQIYI, and Tencent Video. Her show Wo Jia Na Gui Nv (My Little One), China’s first observational reality series centered on the lives of single women, was nominated for the Magnolia Award for Best Reality TV at the 25th Shanghai TV Festival. Collectively, her shows have accumulated over 22 billion views online and received 21 awards across China and abroad. In 2018, her team was honored with the Chinese Television Media Award for Best Television Production Team, presented by the China National Radio and Television Administration.
Mona also created China’s first automobile-themed concert, collaborating with renowned creatives such as Kim Gavin (Creative Director of the 2012 London Olympic Closing Ceremony and Adele Munich 2024) and Heather Shaw (Set Designer for Coachella Quasar 2024 and the MTV VMAs 2022). She served as head creative producer and director for the 2019–2020 Hunan TV New Year’s Eve Concert, working alongside the Eurovision Song Contest creative team, Black Skull Creative, and award-winning lighting designer Tom Sutherland (BRIT Awards 2023–2025, MTV VMAs). She has also directed and produced music shows for leading Asian artists including Jackson Wang, JJ Lin, and Hebe Tien.
After relocating to New York, Mona turned her focus to independent cinema. She has worked with The Population — the New York–based production company co-founded by Oscar winner Mollye Asher, Mynette Louie, and Derek Nguyen — as well as with Film Constellation, a London- and Paris-based film sales and distribution company representing filmmakers such as David Lynch and Werner Herzog. She holds an MA in International Journalism and Communication from the Communication University of China and an MFA in Film from Columbia University, and is also an alumna of the La Fémis Producing Atelier in Paris.
Mona’s work often explores the quiet emotional depths and unseen resilience within underrepresented communities. She believes that storytelling through film can illuminate empathy and inspire genuine connection. Most recently, a film she produced premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival and the 25th Shanghai International Film Festival.