HYENA
In an isolated castle, students prepare for a life-changing examination. As anticipation builds to a fever pitch, a storm strikes. Trapped within crumbling walls, their academic sanctuary becomes a prison, and minds begin to break.
- Language Mandarin Chinese
- Country China, United States
- Genre
- Year of creation 2025
- Duration 00:20:00
Altay Ulan Yang is a 27-year-old Mongolian-Chinese writer-director from the Chahar Mongolian tribe of Inner Mongolia, China. Raised in a monastery and trained as a lama until the age of 18, he later relocated to Los Angeles, where he continues to develop his filmmaking practice. Trained in fine arts, music, and performance from an early age, Altay brings a multidisciplinary sensibility to his work. His films transform memory, trauma, and cultural displacement into cinematic rituals, combining highly stylized visuals with strong narrative accessibility. His debut short film, Monsters Never Know (2020), won Best International Short Film at the Fribourg International Film Festival and was nominated at the Palm Springs International ShortFest. HYENA is his second film, entirely self-financed and based on personal experience. He is currently developing two feature-length projects as the sole rights holder and creative lead.
