Baiwen Xu

Place of birth:

Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China:

Biography:

I grew up in a megacity in China called Hangzhou. For years, I witnessed how fast a city could grow and the incredible speed of people moving in. One side was enormous economic miracles. Another side was inequality led by high housing prices caused by rapid changes. Like in "After Algos," people see inequality but behave differently. They cheer, they accept, and they riot. "After Algos" is not just a film about a machine; it’s about the humans behind it. I started filmmaking before the pandemic and worked as a cinematographer/director in recent years. My first film participated was also a sci-fi film Orange Cube Project shot in Shanghai, China. After that, I started doing commercial work/music videos with talented musicians. Then I found myself digging into narrative film production after I moved to Champaign, IL. I shot different films involving drama, horror, sports, crime, experimental, etc.