Xiaolu Guo is a Chinese-British novelist and filmmaker, living in London and Beijing for the last ten years. Born in China in 1973, Guo trained at the Beijing Film Academy in the 1990s, before further study at the National Film School in the UK. Living in China for 29 years doing film, Guo moved to the UK and Europe to discover more freedom as a filmmaker. Guo harnesses both documentary and fiction in her work which explores: alienation, feminism, transnational identities, memory, and journeys. Her books have been translated in 28 languages.
In 2013, Guo was named one of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists. Guo is also one of the inaugural fellows of the Columbia Institute of Ideas and Imagination in Paris, alongside being a jury member for the Man Booker Prize (2019). Guo’s film work includes: UFO in Her Eyes, She, A Chinese, How is Your Fish Today?, Five Men and a Caravaggio, We Went To Wonderland, Once Upon A Time Proletarian, and The Concrete Revolution. Guo’s filmwork has received 14 nominations and 8 awards, including the Grand Prix at Créteil International Women’s Film Festival for How is Your Fish Today?
Calling the Shots 