Shuyao Chen was born and raised in Wenzhou. She moved to New York in 2018 to pursue a MFA degree at NYU graduate film after she completed her study in photojournalism at Penn State University. Her first short film Winter by the River won Best Actor (Asian International Competition) at Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia 2022 and Best Short Film at Berlin Film Week 2022, and was selected by HollyShorts Film Festival 2022.