page_title: Xu Xiaoxi
section_title: Biography
hierarchical_section_title: Xu Xiaoxi / Biography
caption_attribution_description: English: Still 2 from the film Advent (Ad-vientu) directed by Roberto F. Canuto &amp; Xu Xiaoxi in 2016, with actor David Soto Giganto. Español: Fotograma/imagen 2 del corto Ad-vientu (Fu Guo, Advent) dirigido por Roberto F. Canuto y Xu Xiaoxi en 2016, con el actor David Soto Giganto.
context_page_description: Xu Xiaoxi is a Chinese film director and screenwriter. He belongs to a new generation of filmmakers from China that are educated in the West. Since 2010 he co-directs all his films with the Spanish director Roberto F. Canuto and together open a film production company in China, Almost Red Productions.
  Xu Xiaoxi obtains some international recognition after receive some awards in international film festivals and, due to the distinct personal style of his movies, Xu Xiaoxi is considered in some circles as a promising figure in the Chinese industry.
context_section_description: Xu Xiaoxi was born in Chengdu, Sichuan. He was influenced into filmmaking since childhood, since his father was a Cinematographer in those times. He bought him a video camera when he was only 8 y/o. He remembers to start writing stories and record it with his friends. After High School, he wanted to travel and experience different cultures. He moved then to South Africa to study Fine Arts, majoring in Painting at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.  Xiaoxi gains experience and good skills in drawing, painting, photography, and video art. He worked as a video artist in his final year project The Fluxus of ID, a tribute to Maya Daren. He used video images as the prime means of expression regarding perceptions of cultural identity in a globalaized world. In 2006 he received the bachelor's degree of Fine Arts.
  After graduation, Xiaoxi decides to persuade a Filmmaking career and continue his international experiences,  so he enrol in a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) - Filmmaking at the New York Film Academy of Los Angeles, Universal Studios (Hollywood). There, he directed many short films in celluloid and digital format and collaborate in many others mainly as Cinematographer (most notorious was Toto Forever, obtaining a nomination for Best Cinematography from his Academy at the Kodak Cinematography Scholarships Awards). He graduated in 2009 with the feature film Desire Street.
  From 2008 his films join the festival circuit and achieve some awards. This films where created with his usual collaborator, Roberto F. Canuto. They meet as they study the same Master in Los Angeles. His two graduation projects became the most notorious films, Mei Mei (Year One graduation) and the feature Desire Street, co-directed with Roberto F. Canuto (Master graduation). Desire Street receives awards at "Asturian Film Festival 2014 " and a Special Mention for Best International Feature Film at "Mix Mexico International Film Festival 2011", together with other nominations and special screenings.
  During the postproduction of “Mei Mei” the director started the collaboration with the composer who would become part of the team and signature of his work since then, Andrea Centazzo, Italy's top orchestral percussionist and a reference in the Avand Garde contemporary music. Andrea Centazzo composed the scores for all his movies since then: Mei Mei (2009), Toto Forever (2010), Desire Street (2011) and Ni Jing: Thou Shalt Not Steal (2013).
  Back in China, Xu Xiaoxi and Roberto F. Canuto founded officially their own production company, Almost Red Productions, where they alternate the fiction narrative projects with commercial/advertisement works. In 2013 they released the Chinese and Spanish production short film Ni Jing: Thou Shalt Not Steal. This film won the Best Film Award (Riverside Saginaw International Film Festival, Michigan, USA), Best Actress Sherry Xia Ruihong and Runner up Short (Asturian Film Festival, Spain), two nominations in the GAVA Awards 2014 as Best Short and Best Screenplay, together with other nominations and international screenings.  In addition to the fiction works, Almost Red Productions creates commercials and collaborates with some non profit organizations, like Concentric Circles, company that aim to improve the health system in poor Rural Areas of China.
  His film Floating Melon was released in late 2015 and he introduced the project as the second part the trilogy, "Invisible Chengdu", together with Ni Jing: Thou Shalt Not Steal (2013), Floating Melon (2015) and his new film Sunken Plum (2017).
  Floating Melon was filmed in his hometown, Chengdu, and with non professional actors. The World Premier took place in Spain at the 53rd FICXIXON, Gijón International Film Festival in November 2015 and in China at the Art Gallery Shujingtang Alley Art Space in Chengdu (Sichuan) in June 2016. It received an Audience Award at the 15th Aviles Acción Film Festival (Spain) and the Audience Choice Award and Best Cinematography Award (Guo Yong) at the III Asturian Film Festival of Proaza 2016 (Spain). In the first
caption: Picture of the film Advent, with David Soto Giganto
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