My name is Qi Xi (pronounced CHEE SEE), and my Chinese name is 西奇.
I was born in Beijing in 1994, and NEON ZOO marks my debut as a filmmaker.

From 2024 to 2025, I studied in the Advanced Directing Program at the Beijing Film Academy, following a year in its Advanced Acting Program. Before turning to film, I worked as a software engineer at Instacart and Microsoft in the United States, taking a two-year break in between to explore other paths in life.

I hold a B.S. in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. My shift from coding to directing has given me both precision and curiosity. I shape stories with the same structure and deliberation I once applied to building systems, while allowing them to carry the unpredictability of human emotion.

Since 2016, I have shared my life with a rabbit named Marshmallow, a quiet witness to every chapter of my journey. From late nights spent debugging code to early mornings on set, Marshmallow has been a reminder that every story, no matter how big, begins in the small moments we carry with us.