We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Brielle Yuke Li a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Brielle Yuke, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Yes, very fortunately, I have. It took years of building trust, skill, and a solid reputation in the industry. I’m an independent producer working across film and entertainment — from festival-circuit features to vertical series that have made waves in the industry and reached millions online.

It certainly wasn’t full-time from day one — though I definitely wished it was! I started out juggling countless passion projects, often working on tiny or even non-existent budgets, simply to gain experience and grow my network. Over time, that consistency paid off: small shorts led to higher-budget features and commercial work, which ultimately brought me to today — being one of the most sought-after producers in the vertical series space, and running my own production company. Of course, the grander goal is still ahead — and that’s part of the excitement.

If I could speed things up? I’d tell my younger self to worry less about being “ready” — that endless self-doubt and self-abrasion — and to start pitching bigger ideas sooner. No one is ever fully ready; it’s really about daring to take that first step. Still, I think the long route gave me sharper instincts and a much clearer vision at this point in my career — both essential tools in this line of work.

Brielle Yuke, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a producer and creative based in Los Angeles, originally from China. I’ve always been drawn to stories that challenge norms and explore deeper emotional and cultural layers. I work across features, shorts, documentaries, commercials, and have also been heavily involved in pioneering vertical series with platforms like ReelShort—stories that have reached hundreds of millions of viewers. My projects have screened at Venice, Tribeca, Cinequest, Urbanworld, and beyond, and I’ve collaborated with companies like Disney+, Duplass Brothers Productions, Film Independent, and CAPE.

What really drives me is a mix of strategy and soul. I’m obsessed with figuring out what the ultimate impact is—what we want an audience to walk away feeling—and then reverse-engineering everything from there. I’ve been told I have a rare mix of strategic clarity and an unusually warm, collaborative spirit. I think that’s why teams trust me. I don’t just coordinate logistics; I create spaces where people feel safe to do their best work with clear but compassionate boundaries.

My mission is to keep telling stories that cut through the noise: artistically bold, culturally meaningful, yet still deeply accessible. I’m recently interested in pioneering projects that use modern, even leaner production approaches to reimagine what filmmaking can be—something that feels vital in an industry often weighed down by bloated processes.

At the end of the day, I see myself not just as someone who produces films and entertainment pieces, but as someone who builds ecosystems—where creative vision, business sense, and human relationships all fuel each other. That’s what I’m most proud of.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wouldn’t necessarily call it a “resource”—for me, it’s more of a mindset I wish I had embraced earlier. I spent a lot of my early career being overly careful and almost fearful about making the “right choice.” I kept trying to find some mythical perfect path, worrying about and focusing too much on what I would lose if I choose this or that.

What I’ve come to realize is that there is no such thing as the absolute “right choice.” There are only choices—and each comes with its own trade-offs. The reality is, I just have to accept the trade-offs that each choice brings. It’s always a package. Once I truly internalized that, it liberated me to move with more courage and a mentality with which I can enjoy this creative journey and my life more. It allowed me to see decisions not as irreversible regrets, but as evolving opportunities. I think if I’d understood that sooner, I would have spent less time second-guessing myself and more time simply learning, creating, and enjoying the process.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding part of being an artist and creative is witnessing how a story truly lands with people—when you see them moved by your film, when they come up to you to say how much it resonated with them, or how it made them feel seen in ways they didn’t expect. That’s the magic. It can be a crowd experience and it can also be very intimate, just watching a film alone at home. But it touches people.

It’s about creating an emotional moment that transcends culture and language, something that connects strangers in the same room, sometimes even without words. It’s incredibly powerful to see people experience the same heartbeat together because of something you helped bring into the world. These are always the most fulfilling moments.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brielleloving/?hl=en
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yuke-li-13500789/

Image Credits

Claire Ningjing Ran
Shuang Qin
Qimo Li