Xiaolu Guo was born in 1973 in a China and comes from a family of sea lovers. Her grandfather was a fisherman, her father was sent to a labour camp in 60s because he wanted to paint the sea instead of being a farmer. At 19 she left her hometown and studied at Beijing Film Academy and later in the UK’s National Film and TV School. After she received MA on Art, she’s worked as a filmmaker, poet and novelist. In 2009 she founded “Metaphysical Cinema Syndicate” in London, producing guerrilla style films to promote a free cinema beyond narrative conventions.
Her feature films include “UFO in Her Eyes” (2011), Locarno Golden Leopard award for “She, A Chinese” (2009),  “Grand Jury Prize” at Creteil Women Film Festival for “How is Your Fish Today?”(2007). Her documentaries include “Once Upon a Time in Proletarian”(Venice & Toronto official selection 2009), “The Concrete Revolution”(1st Prize at International Human Rights Film Festival Paris 2005) etc.
Her several novels are being translated into 23 languages, among them, the notable ones are – “A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers”(2007), “Lovers in the Age of Difference”(2010), 20 “Fragments of a Ravenous Youth”(2008), and “UFO in Her Eyes”(2009). She’s been nominated for Orange Prize for Fiction and International Dublin Impac Literary Award.