Darius Shu

Darius Shu is a British cinematographer and director based in London, working across narrative drama, music promos, and branded content. A passionate admirer of arthouse cinema, his work is defined by a commitment to visually compelling, poetic storytelling that champions underrepresented voices and Asian narratives. In 2023, he shot the BAFTA-nominated documentary Always, Asifa and the Netflix documentary Peach Paradise. His cinematography on Queer Parivaar (BFI Flare 2022) won Best British Film at the Iris Prize 2022. Recent credits include Cuddle (2026) featuring Mark Gatiss, Where We Came From (2024), starring Emmy-winner Archie Panjabi, and serving as 2nd Unit Director of Photography on Justin Lin's Last Days, premiering at Sundance Film Festival 2025. He also lensed his first feature, Slim, directed by Sky Yang and produced by Chi Thai. As a director, his films have screened at BAFTA, Oscar, and BIFA-qualifying festivals worldwide. His debut short, His Hands (2019), premiered at Tribeca Film Festival and was nominated for Best Narrative Film. I Am Norman (2021) premiered at the Oscar-qualifying Rhode Island International Film Festival, and his sci-fi short PLOP (2025) had its world premiere and was in competition at the Manchester Film Festival, with screenings at several more BIFA-qualifying festivals across the UK. His upcoming drama Molly, his first original screenplay of a British East Asian story created to champion BESEA cinema, will make its anticipated premiere in 2026. Darius continues to explore humanistic stories through bold, socially conscious cinema, driven by a belief in the transformative power of film to inspire change.