BIOGRAPHY
Shenxun (Steven) Yao is a an award-winning Chinese American director, actor, and cinematographer. His work includes being the cinematographer for Man Hill, Mixed Signals, acting in numerous theater plays, as well as directing Last Chance Dance, Grandma's River, Clark, The Story of a Stranded Frog. His films have played at major festivals in New York, LA, Houston, and Chicago.
Steven aims to create visual poems that blur the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction, conventional and experimental storytelling, reflecting his experience as a Chinese filmmaker navigating life in the U.S. at a young age, capturing the feeling of being caught between worlds and the internal loneliness within a cultural hodgepodge.
SCREENINGS
The Story of Stranded Frog
Asian American International Film Festival (Regal Union Square)
Asian Film Festival - Los Angeles (Best Actor)
Clark
Brooklyn Sci-Fi Film Festival
Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival
Miami International Sci-FI Film Festival
Grandma’s River
Indy Shorts Film Festival
Newport Beach Film Festival
GRANTS AWARDED
Office of Undergraduate Research
Undergraduate Summer Research Grant
Department of Radio/TV/Film
Senior Directing Grant
Media Arts Grant
School of Communication
Honors Convocation 2024: All School Student Award
Sundance Travel Grant