Born in Inner Mongolia and raised in a small touristy town near Beijing, it took Sining Xiang many years before he could pursue his lifelong passion for filmmaking. He studied electrical engineering at Shanghai Jiao Tong University and subsequently earned a master’s degree in science from University of California, San Diego. He kept his love for films alive by writing reviews and articles for Chinese magazines and newspapers while working as an electrical engineer in Silicon Valley.
In 2016, he quit his job to enroll in UCLA’s MFA program in film production and directing, from which he graduated in 2020. His thesis film FOREIGN UNCLE, which is based on his experience of coming out to his family and features his family members, won a Jury Award at the 27th DGA Student Film Awards. It premiered on the opening night of the 2022 Palm Springs International Shortfest and went on to win the Best U.S. Student Film Award. It also won FilmSlam Student Choice Award for Best Short at Cleveland International and Best of Fest at Indianapolis LGBT Film Festival. It also played at Outfest, Out on Film Atlanta, New Hampshire, St. Louis, HollyShorts, and other Oscar-qualifying festivals. It was released on The New Yorker (click on the link to watch) in June 2023.
Sining also works as an editor. SUMMER ENDS, a short film he edited, was nominated for a Student Academy Award in 2021. Sining is editing YOUNG KINGS, a Sundance Development Lab Finalist feature film, directed by his classmate Bryant Griffin.
Sining is a semifinalist of NewFest’s New Voices Grant. He is the recipient of the Motion Pictures Association of America Award, Delia Salvi Fellowship in Directing Actors, and George Burns and Gracie Allen Fellowship in Comedy.
He currently lives in Los Angeles with his partner and their two cats, Raymond and Bridget Jones.
Sining Xiang 