Ma Yan was born in 1984 in Tianjin, China.
He live and work both in Berlin and Beijing.
In 2012, He’ve completed his master’s degree in Fine Art in the Haut École d'Art de Perpignan, France.
From 2012 till September 2022, Ma Yan worked in the Documentary Film Division in Ai Weiwei’s studio in Beijing, China and Berlin, Germany.
Below is the list of the documentary films in which He participated.

You know what I mean (as Cameraman and Unit Director),2013
Human Flow (as Cameraman),2017
The Rest (as Cameraman), 2019
Vivos (as Cameraman), 2020
Coronation (as Line Producer), 2020
Cockroach (as Cameraman),2020
Rohingya (as Cameraman), 2021
Tree (as Cameraman and editor),2022
The Vanishing Village (as Director and Producer), 2022