Deborah Chow is a Canadian filmmaker, television director and screenwriter known for her independent films and her work on Star Wars television. Two of her first short films, Daypass (2002) and The Hill (2004) have both won awards at various international film festivals. Her first feature film was The High Cost of Living (2010), which she both wrote and directed.[1]
She received her undergraduate degree, major of cultural theory and minor in art history, from McGill University in Montreal, where she made her first short film.[2] After graduation, she went on to complete her MFA in directing at Columbia University's School of the Arts,[4] where she completed two short films and a feature screenplay, including her short film, Daypass, which screened internationally at over 35 festivals and won multiple awards.[5]
Career
Chow began her career writing and directing short films while studying film at university and broke out with her first feature film, The High Cost of Living, in 2010. As a film director, she has worked with notable actors James Urbaniak, Zach Braff and Isabelle Blais, among others.[6]
Chow served as director of two episodes of the Disney+ exclusive streaming television series, Star Wars: The Mandalorian, in which she also had a cameo role as a New RepublicX-wing pilot. She was announced as the sole director for the Disney+ series that centers on Obi-Wan Kenobi. Lucasfilm President Kathleen Kennedy stated that "We really wanted to select a director who is able to explore both the quiet determination and rich mystique of Obi-Wan in a way that folds seamlessly into the Star Wars saga. Based on her phenomenal work developing our characters in The Mandalorian, I'm absolutely confident Deborah is the right director to tell this story."[11][12]
The High Cost of Living has received mixed reviews. This film bears all the hallmarks of a conventional indie drama: "a downbeat scenario, flawed protagonists, and a strongly regional inflection." Chow is credited on hitting every mark and narrative turning point. The result is a strange dramatic complexity, with a work of superficial depth.[20]