Ms. Tong holds an MFA in Music Composition from the California Institute of the Arts. She started her producing and broadcasting career with RTHK, the premier public broadcasting station in Hong Kong. Later, she brought her producing and broadcasting experience to the International Channel in Los Angeles, where she worked for their daily news program as reporter, anchor, and producer.
At IC, besides creating her own daily and weekly segments, Ms. Tong also produced several in-depth and acclaimed specials, such as Asian American Directors and Producers, featuring John Woo, Janet Yang and Terence Chang, and the Successful Professional Women series. On top of that, Ms. Tong created the first Asian American newsmagazine pilot called THE ‘A’ JOURNAL, which premiered on May 22nd 1998.
While working full time at IC, Ms. Tong furthered her knowledge about filmmaking at UCLA. Upon finishing her studies, she produced three film projects. First was the independent feature film MY AMERICAN VACATION, which won Gold Medal for Best Comedy at Houston WorldFest ’99. It was sold to HBO Asia and had a limited release at Laemmle’s Grande in Los Angeles. Next was the AFI project THE WATER GHOST, which won Best Student Short at the Santa Clarita International Film Festival, and Silver Medal for Best Drama/Experimental at Houston WorldFest ’99. It was sold to LifeTime Television in ’99. Thirdly, Ms. Tong produced the independent 35mm short CLICK THREE TIMES, starring Isabel Sanford (THE JEFFERSONS), which was sold to PBS.
After IC, Ms. Tong went to work with executive producer and director Stanley Tong on the popular CBS series MARTIAL LAW. In Jan. ’00, she left the show and started her own production company, DuckPunk Productions. Since then, her projects have included: TALK TO TAKA, funded by AtomFilms, starring Pat Morita (THE KARATE KID) and Mako (PEARL HARBOR); two documentaries, TAKY KIMURA: THE DRAGON’S LEGACY, and CARING; and two PSAs, one for C.D.C. and the other one for H.U.D. featured Joan Chen (THE JOY LUCK CLUB).
In 2002, Ms. Tong has expanded the company and added TV commercials and viral ads to the company slate. Since then, DuckPunk’s TV commercials clients include Wells Fargo, Walmart, Toyota, California Lottery, SBC/Yahoo, AT & T, and California Health Dept., etc.
Currently, Ms. Tong has several feature and TV projects in development as a writer/producer. Ms. Tong’s work has gained recognition in the Asian American community and brought a positive image to all Asians. Her ultimate goal is to produce projects that enhance awareness of Asian Americans in the mass media and popular American culture.