Simon Wu

Filmmaker & Writer & Actor

Biography

Simon Wu is a filmmaker, writer, actor, and PhD researcher in film practice at the University of Nottingham, where he is developing his second feature film under the supervision of award-winning filmmaker Dr Simon Weaving. His research explores film practice, multilayered narratives, and gender. Simon holds master’s degrees from Harvard University and the University of Hong Kong and currently teaches film courses at the University of Hong Kong, where he also supervises master’s capstone projects in film direction.

Simon has worked in film as both a filmmaker and an actor, with projects recognized at international film festivals. His debut feature film, Under the River, which he wrote, directed, and starred in, won the Best Experimental Film Award at the 2026 LA International Art Film Fest. The film is also currently under consideration for a screening in 2027 at the Marilyn Monroe Theatre at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in Los Angeles.

In addition to his filmmaking, Simon has published several short stories in English and is currently completing his first short story collection. His recent academic article, “Dynamic Writing with A Flash of Inspiration: The Application and Future of Improvisation in Interactive Performative Writing,” won First Prize from the Global Association of Chinese Creative Writing and was published in Chinese Creative Writing Studies (Shanghai University Press) in 2025.

Film

· Under the River (feature film)

Best Experimental Film, LA International Art Film Fest, 2026

Short Stories

· The Suspended Thing

The Suspended Thing follows Zhan, a university student in Tibet. As he becomes increasingly drawn to Professor Lin, the supervisor of his graduation script, Zhan is forced to confront unresolved feelings toward his absent mother, Sonam, as well as his own fractured sense of cultural and linguistic belonging. Set between Tibet and Beijing, the story explores how desire, shame, care, and suspicion become entangled within unequal relationships. Through the recurring image of the liquid hourglass, the story reflects on emotional aftermath, and the lingering force of feelings that cannot be fully resolved.

· Wolfdog

Wolfdog is a quiet and heartbreaking story that follows Lucas, a film director grappling with grief, love, and the blurred boundaries between cinema and real life during the chaotic production of a film adapted from a novel co-written with his long-time collaborator, Mei. As changes to the script, casting, and even the dog actor unfold, the film shoot becomes a site of emotional confrontation—both between collaborators and within Lucas himself. The arrival of a new assistant, Wilson, introduces unexpected intimacy, forcing Lucas to reckon with past loss and present desire.

· When Children Start to Doubt

The short story “When Children Start to Doubt” is set against the cultural differences between Beijing and Hong Kong, and tells the story of the complex emotions experienced by sixteen-year-old girl Yihan during adolescence, cultural differences and family tensions. As Yihan becomes more proficient in Cantonese, language becomes one of the factors influencing her relationships. The story explores multilingual and multi-text writing. Yihan’s diary combines real experiences with fictional narratives, making the feelings and actions of the characters more complex and subtle.

Book Chapter

· Dynamic Writing with A Flash of Inspiration: The Application and Future of Improvisation in Interactive Performative Writing

This article examines the role of improvisation in interactive performance writing, focusing on strategies such as dynamic text generation, multiple narrative pathways, and real-time scene adaptation. It explores how emerging technologies, including AI, VR, and AR, expand the flexibility and openness of the creative process, enabling new forms of multimodal and collective authorship. The article also considers the future development of improvisational writing in relation to personalised content, mixed reality, creative ethics, and data privacy.

Simon’s Film Portfolio

The Winner of the Best Youth Actor – Berlin International Art Film Festival

Winner, Best LGBT Film: https://swedenfilmawards.se/the-blue-pleated-skirt/

Publications

Short Stories:

Wu, Simon. “Wolfdog.” Lecture Notes in Education, Arts, Management and Social Science 3, no. 3, 2025. doi:10.18063/LNE.V3I3.834.

Wu, Simon. “When Children Start to Doubt.” Global Vision Research, 2024. doi:10.69979/3041-0843.24.2.030.

Book Chapter:

Wu, Simon. “Dynamic Writing with A Flash of Inspiration: The Application and Future of Improvisation in Interactive Performative Writing.” Chinese Creative Writing Studies, Shanghai University Press, 2025.

Selected Filmography：

Wu, Simon. (Director & Leading Actor). (2026). Under the River. [Feature Film], Upcoming.

Wu, Simon. (Leading Actor). (2025). Poets and Yu. [Feature Film], Beijing Shengying Shiguang Film and Television Culture Co., Ltd.

Wu, Simon. (Leading Actor). (2024). The Light. [Feature Film], A Certain Regard, Hedong Pictures.

Wu, Simon. (Leading Actor). (2022). The Blue Pleated Skirt [Feature Film], iQIYI Pictures.

Speaker

Producing and Exporting Gender Narratives: Chinese Games, Platforms, Reality TV and Films, Association of Asian Studies, 2025.

Hidden Traces—Refracted Chinese Identity in Yiyun Li’s Non-Chinese Narratives, Global Cultural Management Forum, Shanghai Jiao Tong University , 2025.

Drifting in Historical Images: Trauma, Memory, and Spectatorship in Lu Chuan’s City of Life and Death, Chinese Film History Annual Conference, China Film Art Research Center, 2025.

Dynamic Writing with A Flash of Inspiration: The Application and Future of Improvisation in Interactive Performative Writing, Global Association of Chinese Creative Writing, 2024.

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