About

Michael Yuchen Lei is an award-winning Chinese-born filmmaker whose fiction and non-fiction work has played at festivals including Tribeca, Slamdance, San Sebastian, Hollyshorts, CPH:DOX, and Palm Springs. His feature documentary debut, A Taste of Sky was produced by Archer Gray (The Persian Version) and premiered at Tribeca. A graduate of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, he began his career in music as personal photographer to Joe Walsh of the Eagles and photographing artists such as Ringo Starr, the xx, and Outkast.

He has been recognized as a fellow by Almanack Screenwriters, Points North Institute, SFFilm, and Film Independent in Documentary, Screenwriting and Project Involve. He was most recently a fellow in Dan Lin’s Rideback RISE Incubator and a 2025 Indeed Rising Voices Filmmaker. His latest film, Mushroom Dad, was executive produced by Emmy Award Winner Lena Waithe and premiered at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival to critical acclaim and has won awards at festivals around the world. He is developing a number of projects including his feature fiction debut.

CONTACT: mike at alephfilms.com