Darius Shu

Darius Shu (born 5 May 1994) is a cinematographer from the United Kingdom. He is best known for his recent films His Hands and Secret Child. n
A recipient of more than five Best Cinematography awards, Darius has had back to back award winning films over the recent years. Currently based and living in London, his directorial debut short film His Hands with Arron Blake was an official selection at Tribeca Film Festival 2019, for which the film was nominated for Best Narrative Short.
== Early Life ==
Darius took up painting from a young age, had passion for interior design, songwriting and subsequently enrolled in Taylor's University and University of the West of England, Bristol where he studied broadcasting, journalism and media for his degree after finishing high school. While studying his degree, Darius developed a passion for photography. He began to shoot his own films with friends and developed his interest for cinematography.
After university, Darius applied to pursue his Masters in Film Production in Cinematography at Arts University Bournemouth. Darius mentioned that his inspiration are Roger Deakins, Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve<
== Career ==
After graduating his Bachelor's degree, Darius started shooting for luxury fashion magazines, music videos and documentaries. His love for filmmaking made Darius dive into cinematography. At the Bournemouth Film School, he had the opportunity to shoot Pardaa (2017) with director Kajri Babbar. The film became a Semi-Finalist at the 44th Student Academy Awards. It premiered at Aesthetica Film Festival in the United Kingdom. Later that year, Darius reunited with Kajri Babbar for her second television-film, ZEE5 Original, Khoj (2018) filming in both UK and India with actress Zara Khan. The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival and went on to stream on ZEE5, India's largest streaming channelCannes Film Festival|.
Darius was approached by producer Gordon Lewis to shoot his new film Secret Child in late 2017. The film is based of Gordon Lewis' bestselling book, Secret Child. It starred Fiona Glascott (Brooklyn, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Austin Taylor (My Cousin Rachel) and Aaron McCusker (Bohemian Rhapsody). Secret Child tells the true story in the 1950s that deals with a young boy hidden away from the world in a home for unmarried mothers called Regina Coeli in Dublin. The film was a breakthrough success for Darius as it won more than 20 international awards. It had its world premiere at the Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood at the HollyShorts Film Festival 2018 and receive a nomination for Best Period Piece. For its London premiere at the New Renaissance Film Festival 2018, the film won Best Debut Film. Producer Gordon Lewis is currently in talks to turn Secret Child into a television series. 
In 2018, Darius team up with Arron Blake and they both co-directed, wrote, and produced His Hands (2019), with Darius shooting the film as the cinematographer. This was their directorial debut and the first film they made together. His Hands had its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival 2019 in New York. The film received nomination for Best Narrative Short. The film created a whole new experience as it was a silent psychological thriller, using only the power of visual storytelling and cinematography. It tells the story of two men meeting for the most unusual confrontation of their lives as it touches themes such as sexuality, loneliness, identity and ageism. The film was applauded as a cinematic masterpiece as it was made on a low budget of £400, with no dialogue delivery throughout the film and using only natural light during filming. 
He has also shot a commercial for Chanel and Coach in late 2019 where he was flown over to New York to film with seven celebrities from South East Asia. Darius attended Chanel's prestigious fashion show during Paris Fashion Week in France to shoot for Chanel with singer-songwriter Yuna. 
In 2020, Darius reunited with director Yewweng Ho on a new dyslexia film, Mical (2020). It follows the true story of Pat and Mike Jones on the struggles and journey of being dyslexic.
Darius is currently working with Shiva Raichandani on his new drama musical British-Asian film Queer Parivaar.
== Recognition ==
Attitude magazine, reviewed His Hands (2019) calling, " the cinematography is beautiful, modern and stylish. His Hands is a powerful film that says a lot without “saying” anything at all." The Star praised Darius as, "a cinematographer who shoots to make things and people stand out." The Advocate magazine pointed out that, "the cinematography of His Hands offers an unnerving experience through dark, haunting images with no dialogue."
Mark Gatiss, the producer of Netflix-BBC television series Dracula and Sherlock reviewed His Hands as, "A beguilingly beautiful gem, Arron Blake and Darius Shu's His Hands defies easy analysis. Shot through with strange, homoerotic melancholy it's ravishing to look at and haunts the memory long after." 
Film Threat praised Darius' work as, "beautifully well shot, exuding a mysterious atmosphere in each frame" while Unsettled Magazine called His Hands, "a masterpiece built on suspense and appealing imagery." 
Darius made his first live television appearance in an interview with London Live after the success of Tribeca Film Festival. He has also appeared in an extensive newspaper coverage in the mainstream media in South East Asia and the UK. 
==In the media==
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== Filmography ==
Films
Year	Title 	Director 	Notes
2016	Grief 	Caspar Muller 	
2016	Bulletproof 	Darius Shu 	
2016	Pardaa 	Kajri Babbar 	
2017	White Balance: The Grape	Tashita Mukherji 	
2017	Narcissus Revisited 	Caspar Muller 	
2018	Secret Child 	Yewweng Ho 	
2018	Khoj 	Kajri Babbar 	TV movie
2019	His Hands 	Arron Blake, Darius Shu	
2019	Tainted 	Rikki Beadle-Blair 	
2020	Mical 	Yewweng Ho 	
2020	Queer Parivaar 	Shiva Raichandani 	
== Awards and nominations ==
=== Film festivals ===
Year	Festival 	Category 	Work 	Result
2017	Aesthetica Short Film Festival 	Nahemi Short Film Award 	Pardaa 	Nominated
2017	Calcutta International Cult Film Festival 	Best Short Film 	Pardaa 	Won
2017	Sydney Indie Film Festival 	Best Drama 	Pardaa 	Won
2018	Hollyshorts Film Festival 	Best Period Piece 	Secret Child	Nominated
2018	Alternative Film Festival 	Best Period Piece 	Secret Child	Nominated
2018	Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards	Best Cinematography 	Secret Child	Nominated
2018	Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards	Best Drama Short 	Secret Child	Won
2018	New Renaissance Film Festival 	Best Debut Film 	Secret Child	Won
2018	Gold Movie Awards 	Best Short Film 	Secret Child	Won
2018	Festigious International Film Festival 	Best Cinematography 	Secret Child	Won
2018	Festigious International Film Festival 	Best Narrative Short 	Secret Child	Won
2018	European Cinematography Awards 	Best Short Film 	Secret Child	Won
2018	Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest 	Best Cinematography 	Secret Child	Won
2018	Bucharest ShortCut Cinefest 	Best Film 	Secret Child	Won
2018	Kerry Film Festival 	Best Short Film 	Secret Child	Nominated
2018	Largo Film Awards 	Best Cinematography 	Secret Child	Won
2018	Oniros Film Awards 	Best Cinematography 	Secret Child	Nominated
2018	Sydney Indie Film Festival 	Best Film 	Secret Child	Nominated
2018	Cefalù Film Festival 	Best Short Film 	Bulletproof 	Nominated
2018	Sarajevo Film Festival 	Best Short Film 	Bulletproof 	Nominated
2018	Cannes Film Festival 	Short Film Corner 	Khoj 	Nominated
2018	Gold Movie Awards 	Best Cinematography 	His Hands 	Won
2019	Tribeca Film Festival 	Best Narrative Short 	His Hands 	Nominated
2019	Canada Shorts Film Festival 	Award of Excellence 	His Hands 	Won
2019	London International Motion Pictures Award 	Best Narrative / Fiction UK Short Film	His Hands 	Nominated
2019	Queen Palm International Film Festival 	Best Cinematography 	His Hands 	Won
2019	Queen Palm International Film Festival 	Best Short Film - Silent 	His Hands 	Won
==External links==
Darius Shu on instagram
Darius Shu on facebook
Darius Shu on twitter
Darius Shu on imbd
Darius Shu on vimeo
== References ==
Category:British cinematographers
Category:Tribeca Film Festival
Category:University of the West of England
Category:Arts University Bournemouth
Category:Cannes Film Festival
Category:Fashion events in France
Category:1994 births