Li Chenwei is an emerging image maker and photography artist based in China, holding an MFA in Cinematography from the Beijing Film Academy. Combining a strong academic foundation with versatile creative practice and growing international visibility, he works across short film cinematography, documentary and street photography, and experimental moving image. His practice is rooted in light and shadow as narrative, precise emotional observation, and formally adventurous visual language.

As a cinematographer, Li shapes the overall visual tone of short films such as To Spring and Poems and Songs, while also independently conceiving and realizing still photography and experimental video projects. Moving fluently between media, he continually pushes the boundaries of his own style, shifting from narrative work to documentary and gallery-oriented image making.

His work has received both critical and academic recognition. The photographic series Lover was included in the exhibition “Parallel Gathering” and published in the August 2023 issue of Chinese Photography magazine. His documentary and photo series Xuejie – Haonan for Tencent News’ “Guyu Images” won the Tencent News Annual Click Award and was shown in the exhibition “Art Achieves Dreams,” while the project The Place Where We Stand was selected for China Youth Daily’s “Glimmer Project.” Earlier works such as Dead Crow and the experimental video Double-click Punk were included in the 4th and 5th “Academy Photography Award” exhibitions.

Li’s more recent moving-image work has been recognized on the international festival circuit. To Spring received the Best Cinematography award at the International Screen Dance Film Festival and was selected by the Bucharest International Dance Film Festival. Poems and Songs was named Best Extreme Creation Film at the Beijing International Film Festival Dance on Camera section. Grounded in research yet driven by a strong poetic and visual imagination, Li uses the camera to deconstruct emotion and reality, emerging as a compelling new voice in contemporary image-making.

Selected works

• To Spring, Director of Photography, 2025

  Best Cinematography, International Screen Dance Film Festival

  Official Selection, Bucharest International Dance Film Festival

• Poems and Songs, Director of Photography, 2023

  Best Extreme Creation Film, Dance Film Section, Beijing International Film Festival

• Lover, photographic work

  Exhibition “Parallel Gathering” and published in Chinese Photography, August 2023

• Xuejie – Haonan, director and photographer

  Tencent News Guyu Images, Tencent News Annual Click Award, exhibition “Art Achieves Dreams”

• The Place Where We Stand, documentary photography

  Selected for China Youth Daily “Glimmer Project”

• Dead Crow, photographic work

  4th Academy Photography Award

• Double-click Punk, experimental video

  5th Academy Photography Award