We were lucky to catch up with Yue Yu recently and have shared our conversation below.

Yue, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

There is a saying: “Risk is always better than regret.” On Oscar day at the Bel Air Hotel, I was snapping a pic of Janelle Monae for her gorgeous Thom Browne look; and not far away from us, Irina Shayk was posing in front of a full bloom magnolia tree, before heading to the Vanity Fair party. Inside a pink bungalow, Dwayne Johnson was making final adjustments on his dashing look with Ilaria Urbinati. During this most celebrated moment in the film industry, I was recalling my adventure, never regretting the decision I made seven years ago.

Yue, 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 was trained by Conde Nast and became a creative director & internationally recognized visual contributor. After working in the fashion, design and entertainment industry for more than ten years, in order to achieve a broader vision on both career and life, I moved to LA from Beijing, on my own and gained a MFA in film degree, specializing in directing and cinematography at ArtCenter College of Design. A client offered me $7000 to direct and produce each commercial in my post-graduation chapter before the pandemic hit. During the peak of Covid outbreak, I made a portfolio book with more than 300 pages for USCIS. There were sections which included moviemaking, documentaries, photography, production design, sound design, animation, 3D animation, editing, creative writing, etc, and other various kinds of multimedia works. I was the only ArtCenter film alum who received O-1 approval (this rating is for individuals with extraordinary abilities or achievements) during some challenging times. Ever since then as a filmmaker and multimedia artist, I’ve worked for three feature movies, ten short films, TV series, music video, and reality shows, and contributed to film festivals, screenings and art events in competitive Los Angeles.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Being a filmmaker and storyteller, has so much impact on the world. We can use it as an avenue to share our perspective on many things with our voice.

For instance, ‘Normadland (2020)’ draws public attention to a marginalized group of itinerant workers who generally remain stoic to their fate; as the film helps to provide solutions to the social issue. Another example is ‘The Creator (2023)’, which brings a profound point of view on the subject of A.I. impact. This epic movie bravely presents an apocalyptic future of how we can actually live and evolve with artificial intelligence, with incredibly thoughtful morals, values, and insights on human nature.

As a director and producer, I do hope my works not only entertain audiences, but are truly beneficial to people and this world. My goal is that they become inspirational cultural artifacts that span generations.
Last fall, a professional at Erewhon chatted with me about making a simple but extraordinary video in the upcoming days. Erewhon has become a culture sign representing LA in recent years, good or bad… I have wondered what messages this high-end lifestyle grocer could positively predict and deliver for the next generation. Now I have a brain child ready.

Other impending projects included a documentary about a distinguished Malibu young man who lost his mother and found his lighthouse in life through the outdoor extreme ‘highline’ sport that is growing with a phenomenal group of adventurers. In addition to that, an ArtCenter film alum reached out lately for producing his Sci-Fi feature.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Spiritually being forever young, nourished by art essentials and refreshments. Creatives are absolutely soul blessed, we are creatures with unusual stories.

Sometimes we glance at the giant red moon in LA, and realize the city is literally a huge film set. Especially in Hollywood, you get a chance to meet those industry professionals, and are blown away by their legacy. After attending AFI FEST for seven years, I finally received a pass to a major studio, Oscar nominated movie premiere along with star studded after party at Mother Wolf. Later on that Halloween eve, I found myself in the house of John Carpenter’s producer with a celebrity photographer. I was stunned by the extensive film archive he has collected for many years, which were stacked against three walls in an exclusive room. I was also greatly intrigued by the anecdote he narrated about Brad Pitt and Juliette Lewis who lived together next door in the early 90s last century.

During Pride month, at Huntington library’s annual event, I encountered an old gentleman in a tuxedo covered full of red roses. He invited me to a book signing event at the Academy museum the next day, hosted by his ex-lover who is the director of ‘Grease(1978)’. ‘Grease’ is a well-known musical but I never got a chance to watch it. With curiosity, I looked up the film on IMDB. I only found ‘Danny’, the character John Travolta played, which is exactly the same name as the old gentleman in the red rose tuxedo.

A director from ‘Full House’ put me on his pilot at Warner Bros. After accomplishing his tasks, I would visit a friend who was the post production supervisor for ‘The Color Purple(2023)’ (I bumped into Jeremy Strong from ‘Succession’ there). Sometimes I would walk to the other side of the studio, contributing to a 1920s Al Capone related biopic produced by John Watson (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves). And I will always remember the surreal moment I sat on the bench next to No.44 ‘The Mill’ in backlots; seeing a helicopter in the sky hover like a tiny fly above the more than 100 years old towering WB vintage sound stage wall, and feeling gratitude and fulfillment in this adventure.

At the ASC (The American Society of Cinematographers) Christmas party, people were talking about how difficult and challenging it was for us over the past four years. Despite the historical strikes, A.I. impact, studio layoffs constantly hit our industry, I only found myself getting unprecedentedly tenacious facing these kinds of highs and lows.

Success takes a while. You can’t get there overnight. But if you withstand the storm, and the attack of the winds and the waves, something good is going to come out of the trial and dark uncertainty. Everything that went wrong in your life is what made everything go right in your life.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fairyyy/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yue-yu-4b95a494/

Image Credits
Olivia Sandoval, Creator+, Evan Seymour, Anthon Davis