Jeffrey was born and raised in Taiwan. At age 13, Jeffrey discovered photography.  Equipped with his Nikon FM2, inherited from his father, Jeffrey started his guerrilla photography on the street in the most agitated period of civil movement in Taiwan during the ‘80s. 

From a career that began with photojournalism in college, Jeffrey Chu followed an unconventional path to narrative features by serving as the DP of documentary-style films such as Confessions of a Burning Man. But it was esteemed film, Summer of Changsha that helped launch Jeffrey into narrative filmmaking globally.  His unique cinematographic flair of a universal cross‐cultural perspective was best exemplified in the mystery drama, Summer of Changsha, which premiered at the 72nd, Cannes Film Festival in Un Certain Regard (2019).

With ten years of living in Shanghai, Jeffrey’s works span a wide array of projects from his most recent movies, the commercially successful Suddenly Seventeen to the art house achievements.  In addition to narrative films, Jeffrey’s commercial clients also include General Electric, General Motor and Beats to name a few.  Moreover, Jeffrey was also an award receiver of the 7th annual Chinese Young Generation Film Forum in Beijing.

With his background spanning the gulf between China and USA, he has developed deep cross-cultural insights to universal storytelling.  Currently, Jeffrey is now a member of International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local #600), and his recent collaborations can be seen on Amazon Prime, BET+ and Netflix.