Hsien Yu Niu, a.k.a. Sunshine Niu, is a Taiwanese cinematographer based in London and Taiwan. She graduated from the National Film and Television School (NFTS) and London Film School with the Panalux Award for Outstanding Cinematography for the Hong Kong short film Underneath(2020). She believes that Cinematography is a tool for translating emotions, environment, and senses through images.
"When I was at university in Taiwan, I volunteered in a children’s prison where they kept children from nine-18 years old who had accidentally hurt their abusive parents whilst protecting themselves or stealing some food to feed themselves. No one was allowed to teach these children the concept of “future” or “hope.” All these kids were to be kept locked away until they reached 18 years old and would forever have a label on their ID. They would never experience an ordinary life.
During my time there, we volunteered to screen some movies from different countries and languages about making dreams come true. Soon, they started to ask if they could be a soldier to protect their families or to be a chef so that their younger siblings would not starve ever again. It was at this moment that I felt the power of cinema and the power of images beyond language. I decided that if I can ever shine a light on someone else’s life through cinema, that will be the career that I want to dedicate my life to." - Extracted from the article "Sunshine Hsien Yu Niu / Rock, Paper, Scissors" from Britsih Cinematographer magazine
Her work has been screened at various international film festivals. Most notably, Rock, Paper, Scissors which won at BAFTA 2025 for best British short film; Bubble Boy(2024), a stop motion animation that she lensed, has been shortlisted for the Bafta Student Award 2024; Maeve in the Dark (2020), was screened at Camerimage Film Festival 2021. Her narrative film credits include All Girls (2022), Liars(2023), A Love Worth Fighting For(2022), Demon(2020), We Choose to Go(2020), and Oudh Gohri(2021), all of which have been screened in either Oscar, BAFTA, and BIFA-qualified film festivals.
interviewed with BSC magazine about the behind the scene of
rock, paper, scissors
(click to find out more)
supporting the BSC education workshop
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