Lisa Lu Attends Her Centennial Tribute at UCLA in Person: Song Jia Presents Flowers as Three Generations of Filmmakers Honor Her
On the evening of October 31, the James Bridges Theater at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), in the city of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County, California, hosted the awards gala of the 4th International Chinese Original IP Film Festival. The highlight of the night was a centennial birthday tribute to Chinese American actress Lisa Lu: the 100-year-old performer, whose career spans more than seven decades, attended in person in a wheelchair to receive the blessings of three generations of Chinese-language filmmakers.
The festival was organized by the Dragon Tales Foundation, co-hosted by the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies and produced by Avocado Media, and ran October 30-31 at UCLA under the theme "Original Stories, A Shared Tomorrow." The gala was directed by documentary filmmaker Nox Yang and opened at 6:30 p.m. with a Chinese dragon drum performance by five young performers of the Little Tigers team of San Diego's Blue and White Porcelain Asian Artists Alliance.
Nine awards were presented during the evening: Most Popular Work, Outstanding Original IP, Best Short Film, Best "My American Story," Most Investment Potential, Best Thematic Creativity, Best Newcomer, Best Adapted IP and Best Original IP. The top honor, Best Original IP, was presented by jury chair Chiao Hsiung-Ping together with Academy Award winner Douglas Smith, and went to May May Miller's "Hu Yaowu Is Lost" and Ruilin Chen's "Golden Key for You." Song Jia won Best Adapted IP for "Falling for My Mentor," and the Most Investment Potential award was presented jointly by international producer Cao Xiaodong and actor Lay Zhang. Daniel Sieu, representing California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, also presented a California Certificate of Recognition to the foundation and the festival, accepted by foundation chair Sunny Zhang and festival president Donald Martin.
The tribute segment followed a special screening of "Leaving a Trace," the film Lu completed at 100. Festival president Donald Martin presented Lu with a U.S. Congressional certificate of commendation on behalf of Representative Judy Chu, and Chiao Hsiung-Ping joined sculptor Zhao Qiong in presenting a commemorative sculpture created for the occasion on behalf of the festival. Song Jia traveled to Los Angeles to present Lu with flowers, recalling that when she came to the United States to develop her own career, Lu had helped and encouraged her and had even written her a letter of recommendation.
According to an account by Michael Berry, the festival's vice president and director of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, director Tang Shu Shuen was also in attendance, and Lu told her: "Let's make one more film together - you direct, and I'll act." Two Chinese American children, Sofia Shen and Steve Shen, came on stage to offer birthday wishes in Shanghainese to the Shanghai-born Lu, then joined the guests in singing "Same Sky, Same Dream." Near the close of the gala, the "Remarkable Second Generation" award winners took a group photo with Lu, Song Jia and the guests, and festival executive president May May Miller handed the festival flag to Liu Dong, representing the next edition.
Born in Shanghai in 1927, Lu's signature works include "The Mountain Road," "The Empress Dowager" (Dong Furen), "The Joy Luck Club" and "Crazy Rich Asians," and she has won three Golden Horse Awards. In 2025 she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and this June she was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival. A centenarian attending her own tribute in person made the gala a night when three generations of Chinese-language filmmakers shared one stage.
Related:
Lisa Lu: From Shanghai Stages to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an Eight-Decade Career
Source: Dragon Tales Foundation
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：卢燕在百岁致敬晚会现场手持电影节赠送的纪念雕塑，宋佳（左一）、张艺兴（右一）等嘉宾陪伴在侧。图源：第四届国际华语原创IP电影节活动回顾（摄影：南林）。 / Photo: Lisa Lu holds the commemorative sculpture presented by the festival at her centennial tribute, flanked by Song Jia (far left), Lay Zhang (far right) and fellow guests. Source: 4th International Chinese Original IP Film Festival event recap (photo by Nan Lin).
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- 2026-10-31Lisa Lu Attends Her Centennial Tribute at UCLA in Person: Song Jia Presents Flowers as Three Generations of Filmmakers Honor HerThis story
