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Flying Solo

Documentary about airline pilot Julie Wang, who became the first Asian woman to fly solo around the world in 2016.

  • Ed Moy
    Director
    Aviatrix, Luminaries, Up in the Clouds, Middleton Madness
  • Ed Moy
    Producer
    Aviatrix, Luminaries, Up in the Clouds, Middleton Madness
  • Jim Frechter
    Producer
  • Derek Ting
    Producer
  • Joyce Yung
    Producer
  • Julie Wang (王争 Wang Zheng)
    Producer
  • Julie Wang (王争 Wang Zheng)
    Key Cast
  • Ronald Kaplan
    South Florida Locations Coordinator
  • Denley Murat
    West Palm Beach Stedicam Operator
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Genres:
    Documentary, Biographical
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 1, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival
    Fort Lauderdale, Florida
    United States
    November 11, 2018
    East Coast Premiere
  • Marina del Rey Film Festival
    Marina del Rey, California
    United States
    October 20, 2018
    West Coast Premiere
  • Chinese American Mid-Autumn Film Festival
    New York, New York
    United States
    September 29, 2018
    World Premiere
  • YouTube Premiere
    Los Angeles, California
    United States
    November 22, 2018
    Internet Streaming Premiere
  • Only The Best Documentary Short Award
    Miami, FL
    United States
    December 14, 2021
    Winner Best Documentary Short
Distribution Information
  • South Florida PBS
    Country: United States
    Rights: Free TV
Director Biography - Ed Moy

Ed Moy is an award-winning journalist and filmmaker.

His documentary short film "Aviatrix: The Katherine Sui Fun Cheung Story" received a Congressional Certificate of Recognition for Historical Significance (2017), won Best Documentary in the Asia Web Awards (2017), took home an Audience Award for Short at the Marina Del Rey Film Festival (2016), and garnered a Most Inspirational Short Award at the Culver City Film Festival (2016).

His animated short film "Up in the Clouds" also received a Best Short Animation Award from Asians on Film Festival (Summer 2015).

His short film "Luminaries" recently received the Audience Award for Documentary at the Marina Del Rey Film Festival (2017) and won Best Documentary about L.A. Award at the Culver City Film Festival (2017).

In 2018, his documentary short "Middleton Madness" won the Audience Award at the Silicon Beach Film Festival. His documentary short “Flying Solo” was also among the Filmed in Broward winners screened at the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival and aired on PBS South Florida.

As a journalist, he was recipient of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's National Print Media Award (2000) for Excellence in Journalism for his series of articles about their Team in Training Programs.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

"Flying Solo" began when I had the good fortune to meet Julie Wang (王争 aka Wang Zheng) while researching a larger documentary project about Chinese women in aviation history.

I had previously made an award-winning documentary "Aviatrix: The Katherine Sui Fun Cheung Story" about the first Chinese woman to earn a pilot's license in the United States in 1931.

But when I discovered that Julie was the first Chinese woman to fly solo in a single-engine piston airplane around the world in 2016, I decided to travel to West Palm Beach, Florida to interview her.

As it turned out, Julie was not only the first Chinese woman to fly solo around the world, but she was also the first Chinese person (man or woman) to accomplish the feat.

Julie is also the first Asian woman and only the ninth woman ever to fly solo around the world, with three Americans, four British, and an Australian having preceded her.

With a generous assist from her husband Jim, we were able to record interviews and capture b-roll on location inside a private hangar and on the runway at Witham Airfield in Florida.

Thanks to the generous cooperation of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Broward Film Commission, we were also able to film inside the airport where Julie was working as an airline pilot for Silver Airways.

Flying Solo has since aired on PBS South Florida and received accolades at film festival screenings.

As with all my documentary film subjects, I found Julie to be a determined and inspirational person. She pursued her passion for flying and accomplished something few have done.

I hope that viewers will also find Julie's story inspires them to pursue their dreams.