This is our
Crew
BIZHAN TONG
FOUNDER & CEO
Bizhan Tong is a British filmmaker, producer and entrepreneur working across the UK and Asia. Born to a Chinese father and Persian mother, he has spent almost two decades developing and producing commercially driven films and television series that connect Eastern and Western audiences.
He is the Founder and CEO of Phoenix Waters Productions, an international production company operating between London and Hong Kong. Working across development, financing, production and international market strategy, Bizhan has built partnerships throughout the UK, Hong Kong, Mainland China, Korea and Southeast Asia to create and package cross-border film and television projects.
His credits include the Hong Kong crime series Forensic Psychologist, produced in collaboration with Endeavor Content/Fifth Season and now being developed as a UK remake; the UK-Hong Kong thriller The Audition; and the Hong Kong-set remake of Richard Linklater’s TAPE. Executive produced by Linklater, John Sloss and Stephen Belber, TAPE was nominated for Best International Feature at Raindance and subsequently screened at the Vancouver and Miami film festivals before receiving theatrical releases in Hong Kong and the UK. Bizhan also executive produced the British feature Murder Ballads, starring Simon Callow.
His current slate includes Shashou, an international action thriller conceived as a contemporary love letter to classic Hong Kong cinema, and K-Pop Out of Time, a Korean-Cantonese musical feature being produced with South Korea’s Big Ocean EnM. The latter forms part of a growing network of partnerships connecting the British, Hong Kong and Korean entertainment industries.
Bizhan has also worked at senior broadcaster level in Hong Kong, serving as an executive producer at Asia Television and helping to launch its international content arm. He has been appointed by the British Film Institute (BFI) and Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to mentor filmmakers and producers seeking to strengthen projects for funding and international markets.
He has spoken on international co-production, film finance and creative-sector collaboration at platforms including FILMART, the British Film Institute and the UK-Korea Symposium, and has engaged with governments and industry bodies throughout the UK and Asia. His work and commentary have been featured in Variety, Screen International, Deadline and the South China Morning Post, with Variety describing Bizhan and Phoenix Waters as “instrumental in revitalising Hong Kong cinema.”
Before entering the screen industries full-time, Bizhan worked in banking and continues to serve in a senior role within Hong Kong’s investment sector. He holds a degree in Mathematics from the University of Manchester and an MBA with Distinction from the University of Liverpool, bringing an unusual combination of creative, commercial and financial expertise to international production.
CINDY WONG
PRODUCER
Cindy Wong is a Hong Kong-born, England-raised film and advertising producer with nearly two decades of experience across three languages — English, Cantonese, and Mandarin. After graduating from the University of Liverpool, she returned to Hong Kong to begin her career, starting as a translator on film and TVC sets in 2007, then advancing through Assistant Director, Production Manager, and Line Producer before stepping into the producer’s chair. She is currently an active Producer at Phoenix Waters.
Her credits span both film and advertising, including Now You See Me 2, The Confidence Man JP: The Movie, and Tape, alongside campaigns and projects for global brands such as Apple, Adidas, Samsung, Budweiser, Dior, and Art Basel.
Known for her hands-on, ground-up approach to production, Cindy brings the discipline of someone who has worked every seat on set to every project she leads — from indie productions to blockbuster sets to top-tier brand and cultural events
JASMINE YAO
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Jasmine Yao is a producer at Phoenix Waters Productions, bringing a distinctive blend of legal rigour, screen craft, and entrepreneurial instinct to the company’s slate of East-meets-West film and television projects.
Before moving into production, Jasmine practised as a lawyer, developing a sharp eye for structure, negotiation, and risk – skills that now underpin her approach to deal-making, rights management, and co-production financing. She went on to train in screen acting at RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), giving her a performer’s understanding of story, character, and what makes a scene work from both sides of the camera.
In between, Jasmine built multiple startups, honing a founder’s instinct for spotting opportunity, assembling teams, and taking ideas from concept to exit. That entrepreneurial grounding now informs her producing work at Phoenix Waters, where she helps shepherd projects from development through to delivery across Europe and Asia.
Jasmine’s combination of legal training, performance craft, and business acumen makes her a versatile presence on set and in the boardroom alike, equally at home structuring a deal, workshopping a script, or stepping in front of the camera.
PAVANI KONDA
DEVELOPMENT & PRODUCTION INTERN
Pavani Konda is a writer and communications strategist with a background in Media Production and Korean Culture and Media, having spent a year studying at Yonsei University in Seoul. She is currently the freelance Head of Communications at the Bagri Foundation, where she leads strategic communications for cultural programmes and partnerships with organisations including the National Theatre, the Barbican and Saatchi Gallery. She is also a self-published poet, shares her writing and interests online, and was shortlisted for the Penguin Random House WriteNow programme.
Through Phoenix Waters Productions, Pavani is exploring opportunities in directing and script development. She is particularly interested in narrative that explore the common threads that connect people across cultures and in the power of storytelling to bring people together.