Born in Myanmar in 1982, Midi Z arrived in Taiwan at the age of sixteen. He studied design and art before obtaining a master degree from the National Taiwan University of Technology and Science. In 2006, his graduation film, Paloma Blanca, was invited to several festivals such as Busan and Gothenburg. From 2011 to 2014, Midi made three features, including Return to Burma, Poor Folk and Ice Poison; all were shot in less than ten days with a budget lower than ten thousand US dollars. In 2011, Return to Burma was nominated for the Busan New Currents Competition and Rotterdam Tiger Competition. In 2014, Ice Poison won Best International Film at the Edinburgh Film Festival, Best Director at the Love and Peace Film Festival in Sweden, Best Director and Press Award at the Taipei Film Festival and was nominated for Best Director at the Golden Horse Awards. Moreover, it represented Taiwan at Foreign Language Oscars in the following year.