about

Xinyan is an Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist with 15 years of experience crafting timely, impactful stories across cultures and continents.

Based in Washington DC, she has directed, produced and shot TV news packages, explainers, short films and broadcast documentaries for media platforms including BBC News, PBS NOVA, PBS Frontline, PBS American Masters, CNBC, NHK and Channel News Asia.

Xinyan's documentary feature debut, Made in Ethiopia, supported by IDA, Ford Foundation, Firelight Media, and the Danish Film Institute, won a Special Jury Mention at Tribeca Festival in 2024 and screened at 50 international film festivals. Her PBS Frontline film, Maui’s Deadly Firestorm, won an Emmy Award and a Scripps Howard Journalism Award. Her latest PBS American Masters short Cindy Tran: From Here to Here premiered at DOCNYC 2025.

Xinyan began her career as a BBC News producer in Beijing. She draws on her upbringing in a steel factory community in China to document the evolving geopolitical landscapes of the Global South, and amplify the voices of marginalized communities in the developed world.

ABOUT

SAMPLE REEL

FILMS

MADE IN ETHIOPIA

(91 minutes, 2024)

Co-director / Co-producer

Supported by Ford Foundation, Firelight Media, the Danish Film Institute, IDA, InMaat Foundation and SFFLIM

FILMS

PBS FRONTLINE

MAUI'S DEADLY FIRESTORM

(53 minutes, 2024)

Director / Producer / Writer

Emmy Award

Winner, Outstanding Climate, Environment and Weather Coverage

Scripps Howard Journalism Award

Winner, Excellence in Local Video Storytelling

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PBS AMERICAN MASTERS

cindy tran: from here to here

(16 minutes, 2025)

Director/Producer

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INSIDE CHINA'S TECH BOOM

(54 minutes, 2023)

Co-director / Co-producer

PBS NOVA

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NHK

THE DAY I GAVE UP MY DAUGHTER

(49 minutes, 2023)

DoP, United States

2024 New York Festivals TV & Film Awards — Human Concerns Category SILVER

BBC WORLD

CANNABIS: AMERICA'S GREEN GOLD RUSH

(23 minutes, 2023)

Director, DoP, Editor

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SCMP FILM

FIGHTING FENTANYL

(15 minutes, 2019)

Director, DoP, Editor

Gold Prize for Best Use of Online Video at WAN-IFRA Asian Digital Media Awards

RECOGNITION

Maui's Deadly Firestorm (PBS Frontline)

Emmy Award (2025) – Outstanding Climate, Environment, and Weather Coverage
Scripps Howard Award (2025) – Excellence in Local Video Storytelling

Made in Ethiopia (Feature Documentary)

Tribeca Film Festival (2024) – Special Jury Mention for Documentary Feature
Warsaw International Film Festival (2024) – Best Documentary, Special Jury Mention
Planet in Focus International Film Festival (2024) – Best International Feature
Austin Asian American Film Festival (2025) – Documentary Jury Award & Audience Award
Moritz Feed Dog Film Festival (2025) – Best Film
SIMA Awards (2025) – Finalist
Cinema for Peace Awards (2025) – Nominee, International Green Film Award
Rory Peck Awards (2025) – Sony Impact Award for Long-Form Current Affairs