Yiming Zhao is a production designer, originally from Beijing, China. She graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a B.A. in Film and Television Production. She gained her interests in design after working alongside Academy awarded designer Tim Yip under the costume department of Netflix’s Marco Polo season 2 as an assistant. This work experience broadened her eyes and led her to pursue a path in production design.

 

The narrative shorts she production-designed have been selected and screened at film festivals in the U.S. and internationally; including the DGA student awards, LA Shorts International Film Festival, AFMA Film Festival of Young Cinema, HISFF, and New Filmmakers LA.

 

After her graduation from AFI conservatory, she is currently a participant of BAFTA Newcomers Program. She was also selected into First Film Festival's Training Camp 2021 as a production design fellow. Her feature film, Smoking Tigers, was in competition in U.S Narrative Feature at Tribeca Film Festival 2023 and finally won Best Performance, Best Screenplay and Nora Ephron Award - Special Jury Mention. Last year, she also art directed Sarah Friedland's debut narrative feature, Familiar Touch, which will come out soon. 

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Yiming is a member of Production Designers Collective. Now she's based in Los Angeles and Beijing and works internationally.