A young man with dark hair wearing sunglasses and a black leather jacket is holding a vintage film camera and looking through its viewfinder against a rocky outdoor landscape at dusk or dawn.

Dexter Chuang (Chuang Xu) is a Chinese filmmaker based in New York, drawn to stories that reveal themselves through texture rather than information.

His feature directorial debut, Twinkle Dammit! (2021), screened at 20+ international film festivals, including the Shanghai International Film Festival, Beijing International Film Festival, Brooklyn Film Festival, and Victoria Film Festival, where it received multiple awards. The film has since been presented by cultural institutions, museums, and galleries across North America, Asia, and Europe, including the Kennedy Center (USA), the National Centre for the Performing Arts (China), and Singapore’s Esplanade, and has been included in the George Crumb Papers at the Library of Congress (USA). Twinkle Dammit! received a theatrical release in 300+ cinemas across China and was acquired for in-flight entertainment by over 15 international airlines.

His practice also spans script writing, NGO documentaries, and cross-disciplinary creatives, including the animated short Mission Accomp*****d (2026), selected by the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology and the Montreal International Animation Festival; Species on the Brink (2020); Sea Turtle Homecoming (2020); and Giant Panda National Park (2025), commissioned by China’s National Park System and presented as its official showcase film during French President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to China. Across these projects, Dexter has collaborated with conservation organizations, public institutions, museums, and cultural partners to explore the evolving relationships between people, animals, and the natural world. He also produced the feature documentaries Audry Funk (2019) and The Wanderer (2022), continuing his interest in character-driven stories.

Dexter holds an MFA in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts in New York. He was selected participate in the UnionDocs Lab (2026), serves as a Selection Committee Member for the Shanghai International Film Festival (2022-present), and mentors emerging creatives through Today at Apple (2023-2024). He is also the full-time legal servant to Bertie, a Border Collie with exacting standards and absolutely no interest in auteur theory.

Colorful illustration of a steam train with people and animals, including a boy with a dog, a girl on the train, a green dragon, and horses, traveling through a whimsical landscape with clouds and a blue circle in the sky.