Diao Yi'nan was born in Xi'an, Shanxi Province, China, in 1969. He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, in 1992 with a degree in Literature and Screenwriting. He went on to collaborate on three screenplays: Spicy Love Soup (1998), Shower (1999) and All The Way (2001). As an actor, he has starred in Yu Lik Wai's All Tomorrow's Parties (2003). His feature film Black Coal, Thin Ice won a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and The Wild Goose Lake was nominated for the Palme d'Or in 2019.