Over the past decade, Taiwanese filmmaker Piper Yu has built a career across more than 100 productions — spanning nearly every stage of filmmaking, from assistant roles in production, art direction, cinematography, and editing, to serving as director, cinematographer, editor, and producer on her own projects — working fluidly between Taiwan and the United States.
Before relocating to New York, Yu had already built a substantial body of work within Taiwan's film industry. She directed and produced music videos for independent musicians, including "I Don't Exist," which has accumulated millions of views online, alongside live-session performances, short films, and branded content. As a videographer and editor for TaiwanPlus News, she produced news stories for international audiences under demanding production schedules.
Yu went on to earn an MFA in Cinema Arts in New York, where she has continued to work alongside filmmakers from around the world.
Yu's work has been recognized at festivals across Taiwan and the United States. As Director of Photography, she contributed to "Fatima," nominated at the Queens World Film Festival in New York. She served as cinematographer for "Ulam," selected among the Top 10 films in the Asian International Film Festival's 72-Hour Shootout. Her screenplay collaboration on "Bad Daughter" received Best Student Film at the Kyoto Cinematica Film Festival. "The Better Place," which she directed and wrote, was selected by the Woman Make Waves Film Festival and the Windows of Formosa Film Festival in Taiwan.
Her recent work spans an equally wide range. She served as cinematographer and co-writer for "Stars in Our Hands," a documentary trilogy produced for the Child Welfare League Foundation's 30th Anniversary, documenting the lives of children and families across Taiwan. She has also directed and produced commercial campaigns for Double Chicken Please, the New York cocktail bar consistently ranked among The World's 50 Best Bars.
Yu is currently in production on "Emergency Contact," a narrative short that draws directly on her years navigating life as an immigrant in the United States without a local support system — following a caregiver at a nursing home whose own cancer diagnosis forces her to confront how alone she truly is in the country she's built her life in. The project brings together the network of American collaborators she has built over the past several years, along with the production and creative resources she has developed in New York specifically, making it a natural continuation of the multidisciplinary practice she has built across both industries. Separately, Yu is also collaborating with Hao Hao Film, a Taiwan-based independent production company known for its work on internationally recognized independent films and Taiwan Ministry of Culture-supported productions, to develop an original short screenplay for submission to the Taiwan Ministry of Culture Short Film Production Grant.
Yu continues to collaborate with filmmakers across the United States and Taiwan while developing original screenplays exploring identity, migration, and the search for belonging — work that reflects a new generation of internationally minded filmmakers whose stories move fluidly across language, geography, and cultural boundaries.
Piper Yu portfolio: https://piperyishere.wixsite.com/mysite
