Meet Linwei Hu

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Linwei Hu a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Linwei, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I come from a small city in China, where most people choose stability over dreams.
Growing up, no one told me that working with images and stories could be a real path in life.

But I held on to that idea quietly and step by step, I made my way to Los Angeles.

My life didn’t follow a clear plan.
There was no guidance on how to become a filmmaker — only instinct, trial, and a strong will to keep going.

The film industry is full of uncertainty.
A sudden change in weather can shut down a shoot. Budgets can fall through. A team can fall apart.
Sometimes, a single bad decision or wrong timing can end an entire project.

But I never planned to quit.
My resilience comes from facing these setbacks again and again.

It’s not something I was born with — it comes from caring deeply about this work, and wanting to build a real future in this industry.
Over time, the pressure and challenges shaped my ability to stay steady, adapt, and continue forward.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

From my undergraduate years, I studied and practiced documentary cinematography at the Shanghai Documentary Institute.

After working in Shanghai for six years, driven by my passion for narrative filmmaking, I moved to the U.S. to pursue an MFA in Cinematography at Chapman University. There, I studied under Johnny E. Jensen ASC and Bill Dill ASC, focusing on the aesthetics and technical foundations of narrative visual storytelling.

I am currently based in Los Angeles, working full-time as a cinematographer. I’m passionate about using light, composition, and camera language to push the limits of visual expression, infusing each project with a strong sense of style and narrative intensity.

I specialize in integrating visual language with narrative structure, using cinematography to shape emotional rhythm and support storytelling.

In addition to my work as a cinematographer, I often serve as a gaffer, emphasizing the synergy between lighting, composition, and camera movement to build cohesive visual tone and atmosphere.

I have served as the director of photography on a feature-length narrative film and worked as the camera operator on a theatrical documentary feature, gaining solid experience in long-term production cycles and team collaboration.

My documentary background has trained me to adapt quickly on set and observe with clarity, allowing me to shift fluidly between realism and stylized aesthetics.

In the year since graduating, I’ve worked on several independent short films and one feature film. Commercially, I’ve been involved in the production of dozens of vertical short dramas, serving as the director of photography on five of them. As a recent graduate, I’m grateful to have these opportunities to continue creating and refining my craft.

Most recently, I worked as the DP on the independent feature film Days by Flow, which is currently in post-production. The film tells the story of an elderly man living alone in a remote village in southwest China, facing the final days of his life.

One of the key reasons I was drawn to this project is that the protagonist, Yao Ye, never speaks a single line throughout the entire film. This placed a significant demand on visual storytelling and challenged me to be precise and intentional with shot design and pacing.

It was a highly challenging and rewarding experience, and I look forward to seeing how the final film comes together.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back on my creative journey, the three qualities that have had the greatest impact on me are a strong sense of teamwork and responsibility, the ability to listen with humility, and the habit of appreciating others.

1. Teamwork and responsibility
As a cinematographer, I’m not just crafting images—I’m supporting a vision, honoring a story, and collaborating with an entire team. Taking full responsibility while staying attuned to the team dynamic is essential for trust and creative flow on set.

2. Listening with humility
Great ideas don’t always come from the top. I’ve learned to truly listen—whether it’s to a gaffer, a designer, or a PA—because openness often leads to unexpected creative breakthroughs. Ego limits; humility expands.

3. Appreciation and encouragement
No film is made alone. When you sincerely recognize and uplift those around you, the creative environment thrives. People do their best when they feel seen and valued.

My advice for those just starting out: Don’t rush to impress with technique. Instead, invest in human connection. Build trust, stay curious, and lead with gratitude—these are the qualities that sustain a career far beyond a single beautiful frame.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

One of the most important books in my personal and creative journey is Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. It’s more than a philosophical novel — it has deeply shaped the way I approach both life and cinematography.

Siddhartha taught me that true understanding doesn’t come from being taught, but from experience. Just as Siddhartha had to abandon doctrine in order to find wisdom through life itself, I’ve come to realize that cinematography is not just about capturing images — it’s about perceiving, feeling, and being present.

There’s a line in the book that struck me deeply: “Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom.”
This idea changed how I view film work. We can be trained to light a scene, choose lenses, and design movement — but what gives a frame emotional power is something much harder to define: intuition, empathy, stillness. Siddhartha helped me understand that presence on set matters as much as preparation.

The book also taught me to embrace contradiction — that a character, a scene, or even a single shot can be soft and tense, broken and beautiful, all at once. Film is not about offering answers — it’s about making space for feeling.

As a cinematographer, I’ve carried Siddhartha’s lessons into both visual design and set mentality. In moments of creative uncertainty or logistical chaos, the book reminds me to flow rather than control.
Like water — which seeks no power, yet always finds its way — the camera can be most powerful when it listens, rather than imposes.

I return to Siddhartha regularly. With each reread, it speaks to a different version of myself. And in that way, it’s become a quiet, lasting companion in my creative life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.alanwithhu.work/