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Nelson Lik-wai Yu

Nelson Lik-wai Yu

Cinematographer, director and writer · Born August 12, 1966 (60) · Hong Kong, China

Cannes award nominee · Venice award nominee

Yu Lik-wai (simplified Chinese: 余力为; traditional Chinese: 余力爲; pinyin: Yú Lìwéi; Jyutping: Yu4 Lik6 Wai4; born 12 August 1966), sometimes credited as Nelson Yu, is a Hong Kong cinematographer, film director, and occasional film producer. Born in Hong Kong, Yu Lik-wai was educated at Belgium's INSAS (Institut National Superieur des Arts de Spectacle) where he graduated with a degree in cinematography in 1994. Yu has become a mainstay in both the cinemas of China (where he is perhaps best known for his collaborations with director Jia Zhangke) and Hong Kong. Yu has served as director of photography for nearly all of Chinese director Jia Zhangke's films, and along with Jia, the two men founded their own independent film production company, Xstream Pictures.

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Biography from TMDB.

Born
August 12, 1966 (60)
From
Hong Kong, China
Works as
Cinematographer, director and writer
Titles
13 on MovieCove · 42 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Wikidata (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 157 days to Oct 28Up 59% in 30 days

What are Nelson Lik-wai Yu's films like?

Across their 11 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.

Genres

Drama5 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 81st percentile, at or above their average across these genres
: browse their Drama movies
Documentary2 titlesTypical Midcredits score: 70th percentile
: browse their Documentary movies

Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.

Themes

share of theme weight
Self
34%
Bonds
21%
Society
17%
Survival
13%
Morality
10%
Power
6%
Memory4 titles, browse their movies with this themeFamily bonds3 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity4 titles, browse their movies with this themePurpose2 titles, browse their movies with this themeIdentity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeJustice2 titles, browse their movies with this themeDisplacement2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

What they feel like to watch

their average across 11 films
ToneFeelDemandtheir average · filled zone: the category
Dark: How heavy the subject matter and outlook get. Browse their dark movies.
Tone · Weight
lightdark

Light 1 · Serious 5 · Dark 5

Stylized: How far its world departs from everyday reality. Browse their stylized movies.
Tone · Style
naturalisticheightened

A split, not a type: Grounded 7 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 3

Charged: How hard the emotional peaks hit while you watch. Browse their charged movies.
Feel · Intensity
gentleintense

Gentle 3 · Charged 4 · Intense 4

Shifting: How much it swings between very different feelings. Browse their shifting movies.
Feel · Swings
steadyswings

A split, not a type: Steady 6 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 2

Straight-faced: How much of the runtime is played for laughs. Browse their straight-faced movies.
Feel · Humor
noneconstant

Straight-faced 9 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 0

Slow burn: How fast it moves from scene to scene. Browse their slow burn movies.
Demand · Pace
slowrelentless

Slow burn 9 · Even-paced 1 · Relentless 1

Engaged: How much focus it asks of you — look away and lose the thread? Browse their engaged movies.
Demand · Attention
casualfull focus

Casual 2 · Engaged 7 · Full focus 2

Open-ended: How much is left for you to interpret. Browse their open-ended movies.
Demand · Resolution
resolvedambiguous

Resolved 2 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 4

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Melancholic
10
Contemplative
5
Tense
4
Warm
3
Dread
2
Other
7

How their films linger

Bittersweet7 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking5 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHaunting4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteWistful4 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteUnsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteHopeful2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end · 1 with a twist

  • Bittersweet6
  • Tragic1
  • Ambiguous4

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 Nelson Lik-wai Yu's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for Nelson Lik-wai Yu'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

42 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

  • Torino Shadow (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

    Cinematographer

  • Heaven and Hell (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2025)

    Cinematographer

  • Caught by the Tides(2024)

    Cinematographer · Co-Producer

    Midcredits score: 72nd percentile of all films

  • The Best is Yet to Come (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)

    Cinematographer

  • Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue(2020)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • this body is so impermanent… (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2021)

    Cinematographer

  • Ash Is Purest White(2018)

    Creative Consultant

    Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films

  • Our Time Will Come(2017)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all films

  • Revive (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2017)

    Cinematographer

  • The Hedonists (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)

    Cinematographer

  • Mountains May Depart(2015)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films

  • Smog Journeys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

    Cinematographer

  • A Touch of Sin(2013)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 88th percentile of all films

  • Venice 70: Future Reloaded (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • Forgetting to Know You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)

    Cinematographer

  • A Simple Life(2011)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 95th percentile of all films

  • Love and Bruises (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)

    Cinematographer

  • I Wish I Knew(2010)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films

  • Dream Home(2010)

    Cinematographer · as Brother Wah

    Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films

  • Plastic City(2008)

    Director · Writer

    Midcredits score: 8th percentile of all films

  • Black Breakfast (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Cinematographer

  • 24 City (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Cinematographer

  • Useless (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)

    Cinematographer · Producer

  • Getting Home(2007)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all films

  • The Postmodern Life of My Aunt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)

    Cinematographer

  • Dong (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)

    Cinematographer

  • Still Life(2006)

    Cinematographer

    Midcredits score: 91st percentile of all films

  • The World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Associate Producer · Cinematographer

  • Jeonju Digital Project 2004 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Cinematographer · Writer

  • Dance Me to the End of Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)

    Director · Cinematographer · Writer

  • All Tomorrow's Parties (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2003)

    Director · Writer

  • Unknown Pleasures (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2002)

    Associate Producer · Cinematographer

  • Platform (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Associate Producer · Cinematographer

  • In Public (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2001)

    Cinematographer

  • In the Mood for Love(2000)

    Second Unit Director of Photography

    Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all films

  • Love Will Tear Us Apart (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Director · Writer

  • Ordinary Heroes (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)

    Cinematographer

  • Pickpocket (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Cinematographer

  • In the Dumps (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)

    Cinematographer

  • Neon Goddesses (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)

    Director · Cinematographer · Scenario Writer

  • Shanghai, I Love You (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

  • Wild Punch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)

    Director

Career shape

A full career of 42 titles, 40 of them dated from 1996 to 2026.

Biggest box office

Our Time Will Come (2017)

$9.5M worldwide

Highest rated

A Simple Life (2011)

Midcredits 95th

Most popular right now

Still Life (2006)

Film career

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 42: 0 only acting, 1 with another roleDirecting8 of 42: 3 only directing, 5 with another roleWriting5 of 42: 0 only writing, 5 with another roleProducing5 of 42: 0 only producing, 5 with another roleCinematography36 of 42: 27 only cinematography, 9 with another role · typical Midcredits score81stOther crew1 of 42: 1 only other crew, 0 with another role

42 titles, 11 with more than one role — cinematography and directing overlap on 3 of them.

By decade

1990s5 · crew2000s16 · crew2010s13 · 1 acting · 13 crew2020s6 · crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.

Awards

3 major nominations and no wins, 1999–2008.

  1. 2008
    • Venice award, nominated
  2. 2003
    • Cannes award, nominated
  3. 1999
    • Cannes award, nominated

Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.

How do Nelson Lik-wai Yu's films land?

Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 81st percentile, the median of all 13; across their 11 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 81st percentile for acclaim.

Acclaim · how much people like their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Approval · how many liked their films

72ndpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Reach · how many have seen their films

81stpercentile
Typical film, the median of 11

Midcredits score across 13 titles, by percentile

  • 75th and up8
  • 50th to 74th4
  • Below 25th1

Shape of the crowd

7 of their 13 titles are Crowd Pleasers.

  • Universally Loved3
  • Crowd Pleaser7
  • Broadly Agreed2
  • Mixed1

Most divisive · director, writer

Plastic City (2008)

57th percentile spread · 46% rated it 4 or lower

Most loved · cinematographer

In the Mood for Love (2000)

Midcredits 98th · 87% liked

Reviewers score the cinematography 77/100 in their films, across 11 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 61. The element that speaks to their work as a cinematographer.

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 Nelson Lik-wai Yu work with?

People who share at least 2 of Nelson Lik-wai Yu's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Zhangke Jia shares the most, 7.

Directors

Writers

Actors

Composers and editors

Producers