Diao Yinan (Chinese: 刁亦男; pinyin: Diāo Yìnán; born 1969 in Xi'an, Shaanxi) is a Chinese director, screenwriter and occasional actor. He won the Golden Bear for Best Film at the 2014 Berlin International Film Festival for Black Coal, Thin Ice.
Biography from TMDB.
- November 30, 1969 (56)
- Xi'an, Shaanxi, China
- Writer, director and actor
- 4 on MovieCove · 18 credits in all
What are Yi'nan Diao's films like?
Across a limited sample of 3 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 0 · Serious 0 · Dark 3
Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 2
Steady 1 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
A split, not a type: Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 1
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 1 · Heavy 2
Resolved 0 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Yi'nan Diao's films?
As of October 24, 2026, all 4 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Yi'nan Diao's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
18 credits, 4 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Fire on the Plain (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)
The Silent Storm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Why Try to Change Me Now (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
Night Light: Making of The Wild Goose Lake (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
The Best Acting Performances: A Self-inflicted Whistleblower (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
The Wild Goose Lake(2019)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Ash Is Purest White(2018)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Black Coal, Thin Ice(2014)
Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films
Plastic City(2008)
Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films
Night Train (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
All Tomorrow's Parties (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
Uniform (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)
All the Way (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)
Spicy Love Soup (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Shower (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
Cherish Our Love Forever (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1998)
Fate Finds Us (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Red Snow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 18 titles, 16 of them dated from 1998 to 2025.
Film career
- 2018Screen debut· Ash Is Purest White
How do Yi'nan Diao's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 72nd percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 3 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 74th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 4 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Crowd Pleaser3
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the plot and story 50/100 in their films, across 3 reviewed titles; fans 57, detractors 22. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Yi'nan Diao work with?
People who share at least 2 of Yi'nan Diao's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Fan Liao shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Fan LiaoShared titles: The Wild Goose Lake (2019), Ash Is Purest White (2018), Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014)See all 3 shared titles with Fan Liao
- Lun-Mei GweiShared titles: The Wild Goose Lake (2019), Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Lun-Mei Gwei
Cinematographers and editors
- Jingsong DongShared titles: The Wild Goose Lake (2019), Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Jingsong Dong
- Matthieu LaclauShared titles: The Wild Goose Lake (2019), Ash Is Purest White (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Matthieu Laclau
Producers
- Yang ShenShared titles: The Wild Goose Lake (2019), Black Coal, Thin Ice (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Yang Shen