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

Yinghui, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

My entire filmmaking journey started from taking a risk. It was the most formidable risk I was facing back then, but it was also the most worthy risk I have ever taken. I was born and raised in China and I grew up in a very academic environment. Neither I nor my family knew anybody who was in the film industry. My parents always wanted me to take a “safe” career path and have a “stable” job. I got my bachelor degree in Economics but I didn’t enjoy it. There was a huge part of me that always felt unfulfilled.

I always loved films. I still remember the day that changed my life when I watched Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon for the first time in my life. It was an afternoon after a mid-term exam in my high school freshman year back in 2014. I was so deeply touched and shook by the film that even though I knew nothing about filmmaking at that point, I knew somehow that making films was going to be something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. I wanted to tell a story as powerful as the film and I wanted to create characters as compelling as Yu Shu Lien and Jen.

But I was too scared to jump directly in the path of filmmaking simply because I didn’t know how to and I didn’t have any resources. It took me about 3 years to finally make up my mind to pursue filmmaking as a career path. I was ready to take all the risks and give up almost everything I had back then. It was a leap of faith and it turned out to be the most fulfilling and rewarding decision I have ever made.

I began my filmmaking journey from going to film school. I was thrilled to be accepted into Dodge College of Film & Media Arts, one of the best film schools in the US. I spent years to convince my parents and to prove that I was capable of living my dreams, no matter how wild they were. My parents are now very supportive of me which I’m extremely grateful for.

I’m finishing my last year at Dodge College and working on my thesis project now. Taking the risk to start this journey was just the beginning, I know that there will be so many more great challenges in the real world. But I’m not afraid and I’m more than excited to share my stories with my audience around the world.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Yinghui, and I’m a writer/director pursing my MFA degree in Film Production with Directing emphasis at Dodge College of Film & Media Arts, Chapman University. I was born and raised in China, and I came to the US in 2021 for my filmmaking dreams. I have always been a storyteller in my whole life, even some of those experiences are not film related. For example, I was always the kid in kindergarten to gather a group of kids and tell them stories after school when we were waiting to be picked up by our parents. I love the experience of sharing stories and keeping people engaged in the world I create.

For different reasons, I didn’t have the opportunity to pursue filmmaking in my undergrad or even in high school. But there’s a part of me that always felt restless because I wasn’t able to make films. There were so many uncertainties and self-doubts that I was struggling with because nobody in my family or among my friends was filmmaker and I had zero connection with the filmmaking world. But I’m glad that those difficulties didn’t deter me from pursing my dreams. I made a few short films in my free time and I kept watching films and learned from them. One of the short films I made got me into Chapman and started my new journey here in the US.

The films I like to make the most are body horrors and psychological thrillers. I like to explore the transformation of human bodies and the deeper psychological reason behind it to reflect social realities and the human state of being. I also love incorporating magical realism and surrealism into my storytelling to create compelling characters and their emotional journeys. But apart from that, one of my biggest dreams is to make a Chinese martial arts film because it is the type of film I have deep cultural and emotional attachment to and also because Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was the film that started everything in me about filmmaking.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

As a filmmaker who has taken many difficult detours before being able to pursue her filmmaking dream, I think there should be more opportunities curated by established filmmakers/film schools/organizations that are open to first-time filmmakers or whoever wants to pursue filmmaking but doesn’t have enough resources or connections. One opportunity or experience can be life-changing. I also hope there could be more labs/mentorship for emerging filmmakers and film students who have just stepped into this industry.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I like to draw inspirations from real life experiences and distill the essence from them. It’s a process of creating and also an opportunity for me to reflect on my own life. Being a filmmaker really makes me look at the lives of myself and the people around me from a different perspective and makes me appreciate them so much more.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.yinghuifilms.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/yinghui_lii?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yinghui.li.524?mibextid=LQQJ4d
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/yinghui-li-a01375262