Wenyuxuan Du
Wenyuxuan Du, born in China, graduated with a degree in Film and Television from Hong Kong Baptist University. Wenyuxuan studied screenwriting with USC professor David Balkan, studied directing with director and USC graduate Andrew Peat, and studied composition and film scoring with Wenhai Wang.
Wenyuxuan is an independent director using her film works to expose the plight of women. Short film Advanced Animals (2021, writer, director, and composer) against female competition won an honorable mention award at the Indo Malaysia Film Festival and Sea of Art. Short film Hi, womb! (2022, writer, director and composer) against menstrual shame was honored as the best five short films at the 9th Chongqing Youth Film Festival and was officially selected and screened in the Oregon Independent Film Festival.
Wenyuxuan is an artist dedicated to the preservation and inheritance of ethnic cultures. As a member of the Yunan Lüchun County Cultural Poverty Alleviation and Soundscape Heritage Preservation Project, Wenyuxuan spent two years collecting and analyzing endangered Chinese Hani folk songs and she designed visual landscapes for their exhibitions in 2023, bringing the Hani folk culture reflected in the songs into the audience’s eyes in an easy-to-understand and creative way. In 2023, the film The Night Rain South Township for which she served as the sound designer, received a special mention Fei Mu Award at the Pingyao Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon International Film Festival. From 2019 to 2022, Wenyuxuan interned as an assistant director and music directing assistant at China Central Television, Chongqing Television, and Hong Kong Satellite TV (Chongqing Station).
Wenyuxuan also has remarkable talent in music. She commenced learning both traditional Chinese and Western instruments at the age of six, mastering piano, flute, and Ruan. She held the position of chief Ruan player in the Chinese orchestra and was a member of the chamber music group for an extended period. Continual exposure to both Chinese and Western music has driven her keen interest in their fusion and innovation. Notably, she adapted the classical Ruan solo Silk Road Camel Bells into a quartet arrangement for Ruan, Guzheng, flute, and piano. She performed twice as a soloist of Ruan in cultural exchange activities with scholars from the UK, USA, and HK.