Summary: With more than 13 years of experience across narrative, documentary, and digital formats, Shiyi Xie has shaped a diverse range of stories in both the Chinese and American film industries.
LOS ANGELES, CA | November 15, 2025 – Editor Shiyi Xie approaches editing as a lifelong craft shaped by emotional intuition, close attention to rhythm, and a deep respect for storytelling. She treats each project as an exploration that demands balance and clarity. She brings a collaborative, curiosity-driven approach to every stage of her work.
Early Path Into Visual Storytelling
Xie’s interest in visual storytelling began in childhood, when photography helped her understand emotion and rhythm through images. In her first year of college, an introductory editing class showed her how structure and feeling shape a story.
During this time, she often photographed with a classmate who was working toward becoming a film director and spent most of his free hours making films. Their conversations made her think more seriously about her own path. While she explored possible careers, some advised her to choose a practical major. That same classmate encouraged her to focus on what she genuinely cared about, telling her to try the things she truly loves first.
His words stayed with her. She changed her major soon after and committed to a creative direction that felt natural to her. Editing became the clear starting point of her long-term craft.
Education and First Career Steps
Xie earned a Bachelor of Science in Film, Media, and Social Justice from Mount St. Mary’s University in 2014, later completing a film editing program at the University of Southern California. Her early work garnered industry attention when her short film, “The Changing Room,” won the Best Story Twist Award at the 2015 Temecula Film Festival. She also served as script supervisor on Lulu Wang’s short film “Touch,” gaining valuable experience that strengthened her foundation as an editor.
Building a Career in China’s Screen Industry
In 2015, Xie joined BKW Studio, one of China’s leading post-production companies, where she worked as an editor and post-production coordinator on several of the country’s highest-performing reality and variety programs. Her credits include:
- Divas Hit the Road (Season 2)
- I Am a Singer (Season 4)
- Run for Time (Seasons 1 and 2)
- Trump Card (Season 1)
- Who’s the Murderer (Seasons 2 and 3)
These flagship programs collectively generated billions of online views, requiring rapid editorial decision-making under tight broadcast deadlines.
Beyond unscripted television, Xie co-edited the 47-episode drama series “Something Just Like This,” executive-produced by acclaimed filmmaker Chen Kaige. She also edited “My Legacy and I” Season 2, which was recognized as one of China’s Outstanding Documentaries of 2021 and won the Weibo Vision Conference Audience Favorite award.
Her additional credits include assistant editor roles on the feature film “The Last Wish” and on “Shi Yan Juan Tian Ya.” The latter was directed by acclaimed novelist-filmmaker Xu Haofeng, known for his poetic martial-arts cinema and for writing the screenplay for “The Grandmaster,” which received an Academy Award nomination in 2014.
Advanced Training at AFI Conservatory
Photo: The American Film Institute Conservatory campus in Los Angeles – AFI Conservatory
After several years of industry experience in China, Xie completed her MFA in Film Editing at the American Film Institute Conservatory in 2024, graduating from one of the most prestigious film programs in the United States. At AFI, she edited multiple narrative shorts, including “Firstling,” “Chowmein Holiday,” “Home Visit,” and “Run Run Ali.”
She also edited the documentary “Traditional Knowledge: Weaving the Future,” which highlights members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. Her time at AFI strengthened her narrative sensibilities and deepened her commitment to cross-cultural storytelling.
Recent Projects in the United States
Following her MFA, Xie began working as a freelance editor in the United States. Her recent credits include several high-volume vertical short drama series, such as “Dr. Kiss Me Stat” (63 episodes), “The Last Spark of Us” (57 episodes), “Falling in Love with the Rascal in a Suit” (56 episodes), and “Wild for My BoyToy” (59 episodes). These projects further refined her sense of pacing, sound, and narrative structure across short-form digital storytelling platforms.
Editing Craft and Creative Approach
Xie’s creative philosophy follows editor Michael Kahn’s guidance to “edit from feeling, not from knowledge,” a philosophy that informs her sense of rhythm, emotional pacing, and structure. “Editing feels like an ongoing exploration to me. I return to it because I care about shaping stories with attention. Genuine passion for storytelling has guided me from the beginning,” she explained.
Her work across the Chinese and American film industries has strengthened her belief that audiences respond to clarity and emotional honesty. She studies music, films, and new series to refine her timing and views listening as central to collaboration.
Adapting to a Changing Screen Landscape
Photo: Film and television editor, Shiyi Xie
She continues to adapt to shifting audience preferences, emerging AI technologies, and the rapid rise of short-form platforms. Her experience across unscripted, documentary, and long-form narrative content enables her to move confidently between formats while maintaining strong storytelling principles.
Reality television strengthened her ability to identify key emotional moments. Documentary work sharpened her structural instincts, and long-form editing refined her approach to pacing and character development. Together, these experiences support her versatility in today’s evolving screen landscape.
Recent Honors and Festival Recognition
Her recent narrative work has earned recognition at several international festivals. Her MFA thesis film, The Apple Picker’s Son, received multiple Best Editing awards during the 2025 festival season. These included Best Editing honors at the Absurd Film Festival and the Reale Film Festival in Italy, as well as the East Village Film Festival in New York.
In addition, it was selected for the Lift-off Beijing Film Festival. The project continues to screen at festivals in the United States and abroad, marking a meaningful milestone in her development as a narrative editor.
Future Direction in Film and Television
Looking ahead, Xie plans to deepen her work in long-form film and television, focusing on character-driven storytelling and complex narrative structure. She also intends to continue exploring short-form and vertical formats, which allow her to experiment with pacing, sound, and new viewing environments. Across all platforms, her goal is to create stories that resonate through emotional clarity and thoughtful structure, connecting audiences across cultures.
About Shiyi Xie
Shiyi Xie is a film and television editor working across narrative, documentary, and digital formats in both the Chinese and American film industries. She holds an MFA in Film Editing from the American Film Institute Conservatory. She is currently based in the United States, where she edits independent and commercial projects as a freelance editor.
Contact
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm6909170/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shiyi-xie-19b24961/
