Luis A. Tapia

Born in Mexico City, Luis grew up in Dallas and has been based in Shanghai since 2002. He earned a degree in East Asian Studies from Princeton University, and speaks native English, fluent Mandarin Chinese, and fluent Spanish, plus some spotty French.

Luis is a director and cinematographer. He is certified in the USA as a commercial drone pilot. 

He has done work for dozens of global brands, some of which are listed on our Clients page. In 2014, he directed the video that launched Alibaba’s IPO—the largest IPO in history, and has since directed dozens of videos for Alibaba and its subsidiaries, including a unique POV concept filmed in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Los Angeles to launch Alitrip’s global marketing campaign. His online miniseries for Citroen, Let’s Go: Paris, was a viral hit, attracting more than 13 million views. Luis directed a series of videos for the launch of Hangzhou’s Kerry Central and Shangri-La Hotel properties. In 2016, he completed another high-profile video series for Alibaba’s G20 campaign, and spent half the year traveling the world documenting the life of pop icon Faye Wong. In 2017, Luis directed a series of commercials for Dove, a viral video for Disney featuring Johnny Depp for the world premiere of the latest Pirates of the Caribbean film, and directed a digital campaign for Alibaba's blockbuster "Double 11" online sales extravaganza. Most recently he hopscotched the globe directing and shooting Global Logistics Properties' premiere brand film, directed a digital campaign for the launch of Shanghai Disneyland's new Toy Story Land, chased Ferraris with his C300MarkII and drone, and directed photography for an upcoming episode of National Geographic's "Megastructures".

Other notable directorial projects include his short films Furnaces, Hukou, Connect, and the imminent THIS WILL END BADLY, and documentaries including Up from the Underground, Human Flesh Search Engine, and the feature-length From Wrexham to Wuhan, commissioned by the British government. He was Assistant Director for Seasons 2 and 3 of the award-winning and internationally-syndicated The Amazing Race: China Rush, and directed Season 3, Episode 2. 

Watch his Director Reel.

Watch his Cinematography Reel.

Visit Luis' IMDb.