Coffee and New Wave Taiwan and Hong Kong Directors: Lu Xiao Wei’s Essential List

The Spark & Riot director on her favourite manga and anime, as well as her love of crime podcasts and ‘Tomb Raider’ (1996), as part of LBB’s Essential List series.

 Lu Xiao Wei grew up in Taiwan, where her creative obsession began. After leaving the rigorous world of ballet, Lu wanted to find another artistic medium where she could make an audience feel through form, and in the process, found herself on the path to directing. Early influences from Taiwanese and Hong Kong New Wave, like Edward Yang, Wong Kar-wai, and Hou Hsiao-Hsien, shaped her cinematic sensibilities and narrative taste while studying for her MA at Goldsmiths University in London, resolving that the most powerful image is the one that feels true.

Her early shorts following graduation went to festivals across the US, Europe, and Asia, including the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, Aesthetica, London Short Film Festival, Berlin Fashion Film Festival, and others. Since then, Lu has directed many commercial campaigns for brands like Nike, Johnnie Walker, Tommy Hilfiger x Formula 1, Instagram, Bumble, Lego, Samsung, Depop, Estée Lauder, Audible, and eBay. Additionally, she directed the documentary ‘BR X: FINAL' for Boiler Room, set in Taipei’s underground club scene, and the documentary short ‘The Filial Daughter’, an intimate look at the professional mourners of Taiwan.

Throughout, her films feel unhurried and emotionally alive, navigating the tension between documentary truth and bold cinematic warmth. Lu is drawn to the intersection of cultural identity, music, subculture, and similar places where community and aesthetics collide. She strives for imagery that feels fully inhabited with emotion embedded in the frame. Lu is represented by Spark & Riot for commercial purposes.

Lu sat down with LBB to discuss her love of travelling, her 20-year-old cat, and the inspiring work of Tracey Emin.

 Lifestyle

Place of birth: Taiwan.

Hometown: Taichung, where I spent most of my childhood and teenagehood until my move to London.
Staycation: I usually spend my summers in Paris or Berlin, and winters back in East Asia.
Vacation: The beauty of being a filmmaker is being able to travel around the world for my work. It’s been a while since I went somewhere solely for the purpose of vacation, but I always enjoy spending time in the south of France or Italy in the summer.
Pet: I’m a massive animal lover, and my 20-year-old lady cat is my soulmate.
Place of work: Everywhere and anywhere, from my bed, to airport lounges, to the top of a mountain. My ideas come randomly, and I always have to write them down as soon as they happen.
Place of workout: Anywhere I could find some free weights and a bench. Love walking around in Paris as well.
Good Habit: Matcha every morning. ALWAYS shower before bed. Read books and write with my hand.
Bad Habit: I must finish a movie if I started one, no matter how tired I am.
Mode of transport: LimeBike in Europe. My old beat up car in Taiwan.
Bonus Travel Essential: Noise-cancelling headphones and my notepad.

 Culture
Artist: Tracey Emin. The first time I encountered her work, it shook me. It encouraged me, both as a woman and as a creator, to live and make work that felt truer to myself rather than shaped by what others expected of me.
Musician: Recently really into Hyper.
Commercials/music video director: Romain Gavras.
Film director: I grew up watching work from Taiwan and Hong Kong New Wave directors’ work – Edward Yang and Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s work still have great influence on me to this day.
Author: Yoko Ogawa, Haruki Murakami, Han Kang.
Photographer: Nan Goldin, Ren Hang.
Film: ‘Millennium Mambo’, and ‘Perfect Blue’.
Series: Any good anime series.
Commercial: Recently, I loved the NYC Ballet’s ‘We Exist In Time’ ad film and Balenciaga’s ‘A New York Minute’, directed by Celine Song. Both are my current favourites, and act as good references for my upcoming film project.
Music Video: Arcade Fire’s ‘Afterlife’.
Video Game: 1996 ‘Tomb Raider’ was my lesbian awakening, lol.
Board Game: ‘Monopoly’!
Book: Too many, but I read ‘Hamnet’ recently and bawled my eyes out.
Graphic Novel: Manga from the ‘90s and 2000s – ‘Nana’ and work by Junji Ito.
Podcast: Love a true crime murder mystery podcast.
Newspaper (off or online): The New York Times.
Magazine: ‘FRUiTS’.

 Food and Drink
Breakfast: Matcha.
Restaurant: Anywhere with good food and a chill vibe.
Cheap bite: Everyone needs to visit Taiwanese night markets at least once in their life. It’s a hill I’m willing to die on.
Working lunch: Cold soba plus whatever protein and veg.
Dish: Sushi, any kind.
Snack: Cherries.
Guilty Pleasure: My third coffee of the day.
Bar: Love a good sake bar.
Booze: Sake, orange wine.
Not Booze: I’m on a one matcha and two coffee diet.
Bonus Food: Din Tai Fung in Taiwan.
Bonus Beverage: Iced oolong tea with tapioca, zero sugar.

 Kit
Phone: iPhone for now. Hope to get back to flip phones soon.
Computer: A 2019 MacBook Pro that’s way too big and heavy.
Headphones: Sony has the best noise-cancelling headphones.
Camera: Minidv and point and shoot, or anything compact and easy to shoot.
Pen/pencil: I’ve been unintentionally collecting pens and pencils from hotels when I travel…
Where you document an idea: Physical notepads, Notes app on my phone.
Casual Clothing: CouCou Intimates.
Smart Clothing: Add a white shirt to whatever I’m wearing.
Footwear: MM Tabi every day.
Accessory: My malachite necklace is my luck charm.
Collection: Hotel pens, lol.
Home comfort: Clean sheets, clean room, clean house.
App: Headspace.
Website: crawlspace.cool.
Blog: Some old school photographers’ Flickr.
Work program: Google Doc, InDesign.
Digital work tool: Filmgrab.
Analogue work tool: A notepad and a pen.
Bonus Kit Essential: Loop noise-cancelling earplugs; I write and sleep best in complete silence.