Darius Shu
Darius Shu is a British cinematographer and film director, best known for his work on the films His Hands and Secret Child. His directorial debut short film His Hands with Arron Blake world premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2019, for which the film was nominated for Best Narrative Short.
Early life
Shu started off as a photographer before pursuing cinematography. He then studied filmmaking and cinematography at Arts University Bournemouth.Career
After graduating his bachelor's degree, Shu started shooting for luxury fashion magazines, music videos and documentaries. His love for filmmaking made him dive into cinematography. At the Bournemouth Film School, he shot Pardaa with director Kajri Babbar, which follows a story of an Indian-Muslim girl secretly sacrificing her religious morals in the need of money. The film became a Semi-Finalist at the 44th Student Academy Awards in Los Angeles. It premiered at Aesthetica Short Film Festival in the United Kingdom and premiered in India with an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Calcutta International Cult Film Festival in 2017.Shu was approached by producer Gordon Lewis and director Yew Weng Ho to shoot his new film Secret Child in 2017. The film is based on Gordon Lewis' bestselling book, Secret Child. It starred Fiona Glascott, Austin Taylor and Aaron McCusker. Secret Child tells the true story in the 1950s that deals with a young boy hidden away from the world in a home for unmarried mothers called Regina Coeli in Dublin. The film was a breakthrough success for Shu as it won more than 20 international awards. It had its world premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood at the HollyShorts Film Festival 2018 and received a nomination for Best Period Piece. For its London premiere at the New Renaissance Film Festival 2018, Secret Child won Best Debut Film. Producer Gordon Lewis is currently in talks to turn Secret Child into a television series. 2019, New York
Shu shot his second television-film with director Kajri Babbar, Khoj, which tells the story of a young teenage Punjabi bride, from being abandoned and betrayed to the pursuit of redemption. It premiered at Cannes Film Festival and went on to stream on ZEE5 in over 190+ countries around the world.
In 2018, Shu teams up with Arron Blake and they both co-directed, wrote, and produced His Hands, with Shu shooting the film as the cinematographer. This was their directorial debut and the first film they made together starring Arron Blake and Philip Brisebois. His Hands had its world premiere at Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival 2019 in New York at the Village East Cinema. The film received nomination for Best Narrative Short. The film created a whole new experience as it was a silent psychological thriller, using only the power of visual storytelling and cinematography. It tells the story of two men meeting for the most unusual unanimity of their lives as it touches themes such as sexuality, loneliness, identity and ageism. The film was applauded as a cinematic masterpiece as it was made on a low budget of £400, with no dialogue delivery throughout the film and using only natural light during filming. The film was released on Amazon Prime Video and has received rave 5 star reviews from the public with critical acclaim. Darius then founded the arthouse film production company Silverprince Pictures to develop more independent films.
In 2019, Shu shot a British-East Asian LGBT film, Tainted, with director Rikki-Beadle Blair MBE, about an intense young woman stalking a young gay couple in a seaside town. He has also shot a commercial for Chanel and Coach where he was flown over to New York to film with seven celebrities from South East Asia. Shu attended Chanel's prestigious fashion show during Paris Fashion Week in France to shoot for Chanel with singer-songwriter Yuna and The Laterals magazine. He also shot a fashion film with English actor Dominic Cooper.
Later that year, Shu reunited with director Yew Weng Ho and producer Gordon Lewis on a new dyslexia film, Mical . It follows the true story of Pat and Mike Jones on the struggles and journey of being dyslexic. The film is to create awareness on dyslexia and to support the Dyslexia Trust.
In 2020, Shu teams up with Shiva Raichandani on his new LGBTQ+ British-Asian drama-musical film Queer Parivaar based on an interfaith queer wedding. Later that year, Shu shot a fashion film with British actress Kaya Scodelario for The Laterals.
Shu is set to co-direct his next film, A Peaceful Killing, with Arron Blake currently slated for a 2021 release.
Filmmaking
Shu's work, according to one critic, is characterised by richly textured imagery, paintings inspired, symbolic, and stylish that complements the use of music and sound. Film Ink describe Shu's work in His Hands as '…closer to the works of Kenneth Anger than anything else, pushing and colliding all these contrasting ideas and thematic glyphs, shattering the audience in the process and leaving them to pick up the pieces... instils absolute trust in its audience to understand its emotional wavelength, and the technical craft on display allows the audience to return it in kind; it is art as it should be.Recognition
Matthew Barton from Attitude magazine praised His Hands , calling Shu's cinematography "... beautiful, modern and stylish." The Star praised Shu as, "a cinematographer who shoots to make things and people stand out." The Advocate magazine pointed out that, "the cinematography of His Hands offers an unnerving experience through dark, haunting images with no dialogue." Cain Noble-Davies from FilmInk called Shu's work as, "cinema in its purest form, where the audience is meant to rely solely on visual and pictorial literacy to make heads or tails of any of it... using all of one camera on-set, and it is almost insane just how much skill is on display... able to make every single frame count, and the imagery lying in wait here is astounding in how layered it is." Dave Adamson from Vulture Hound praised Shu's camera work in his film as, "not exploitative... the cinematography hints at desire, not feral lust." Adamson called Shu's cinematography as "powerful" and "masters the art of the unseen....it is a wonderful work of art. Very much like a painting in a gallery." Adrianna Jakimowicz from The Movie Buff describes Shu's work as "beautifully shot". Mark Gatiss, the producer of Netflix-BBC television series Dracula and Sherlock, reviewed Shu's film His Hands as, "A beguilingly beautiful gem, Arron Blake and Darius Shu's His Hands defies easy analysis. Shot through with strange, homoerotic melancholy it's ravishing to look at and haunts the memory long after."Sristi Gayen from Indie Short Mag describe Shu’s cinematography in Secret Child as '...splendid, a gorgeous forerunner of his 2019 magnum opus His Hands.'
Film Threat praised Shu's work as, "glorious cinematography, beautifully well shot, exuding a mysterious atmosphere in each frame" while Unsettled Magazine called His Hands, "a masterpiece built on suspense and appealing imagery."
Chris Olson from UK Film Review complemented its "splendid visual moments" in His Hands and applauded Shu "turning in some excellent cinematography as well as some clever framing." HeyUGuys stated that Shu is able to "create a mood of eeriness and mystery that often makes you shudder" and that his "editing and directing are brilliant."
Filmography
Films| Year | Title | Director | Notes |
| 2016 | Grief | Caspar Muller | |
| 2016 | Bulletproof | Darius Shu | |
| 2016 | Pardaa | Kajri Babbar | |
| 2017 | White Balance: The Grape | Tashita Mukherji | |
| 2017 | Narcissus Revisited | Caspar Muller | |
| 2018 | Secret Child | Yewweng Ho | |
| 2018 | Khoj | Kajri Babbar | TV movie |
| 2019 | His Hands | Arron Blake, Darius Shu | |
| 2019 | Tainted | Rikki Beadle-Blair | |
| 2020 | Mical | Yewweng Ho | |
| 2021 | Queer Parivaar | Shiva Raichandani | |
| 2021 | A Peaceful Killing | Arron Blake, Darius Shu |