Ari Gunnarsson attended the University of King’s College and McMaster University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 2009. After completing his undergraduate studies, Gunnarsson moved to China, where he studied Chinese language at the Beijing Foreign Language University. He speaks fluent Chinese and has achieved a Level 5 (translator designation) from the HSK.
Gunnarsson has shot and directed music and fashion videos, as well as a documentary about the Salman Rushdie fatwa. He’s worked in the camera department on award-winning feature documentaries for CBC, NFB and Arte, and his photographs have appeared in several exhibitions in Beijing.
In addition to his film and photography work, Gunnarsson has worked as a translator since 2018, translating Wang Xiaobo’s novella 2015, as well as the Chinese videogame Chef Pig, into English
Gunnarsson recently returned to Canada after seven years in China.
