Born and raised in Taiwan, Brian Hsu Inocencio is a Taiwanese-Filipino American documentary filmmaker and cinematographer whose work is rooted in curiosity, adventure, and human connection.
Brian moved to Vancouver, Canada at thirteen, where his passion for visual storytelling grew alongside a deep love for the outdoors. From backcountry snowboarding, surfing, rock climbing, and camping to playing rugby, he was always documenting the people and places around him with whatever camera he had in hand.
Today, Brian is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and cinematographer whose work has appeared across BBC, PBS, Discovery, Al Jazeera+, Netflix, POV American Documentary, Peacock, 60 Second Docs, The Economist, CNBC, Business Insider, and Bloomberg Digital. His short documentary Alex won Best Documentary at the Long Island International Film Expo, was shortlisted for the 2017 BAFTA Student Film Awards, and was an official selection of 60 Second Docs.
As a cinematographer, Brian has worked across a wide range of documentary and editorial projects, including PBS's Historian’s Take, the feature documentaries Unconditional and Homecourt, and the Los Angeles food series Boiling Pot. He has also contributed to projects including We Are Bruce Lee, Dykes, Camera, Action!, Andrew Zimmern's food series, and Becoming, an intimate documentary featuring former First Lady Michelle Obama.
His work has taken him around the world. As a cinematographer for iFIT, Brian has filmed immersive running and adventure series across Kenya, Ethiopia, Mexico City, and Hawaii, working alongside professional runners, Olympic athletes, and elite competitors. These productions combine documentary storytelling with the intensity and unpredictability of real-world environments—often placing him directly in the field, from high-altitude training grounds to road races and remote landscapes.
Brian's path into documentary filmmaking began in an unexpected place. Before becoming a filmmaker, he worked as a physical therapy assistant in a Brain Injury Unit, where he met patients facing life-changing injuries. One of them, a young man named Alex, became a close friend and profoundly changed the direction of Brian's life. Alex's story inspired Brian to trust his instincts and pursue filmmaking. Two years later, Brian made a short documentary about him—Alex—launching the storytelling career he continues today.
Brian holds an MFA in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts and a Bachelor's degree in Biology from Hunter College, CUNY. He is a member of the Documentary Cinematographer Alliance, A-Doc, and Video Consortium.
LA Riot - June 2020
fiction, non-fiction, and anything in-between.
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out— because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me. - Martin Niemöller”
