Meet Yalian Li | Writer&Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Yalian Li and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Yalian, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I pursued a career as a filmmaker because this is what I’m most passionate about. I started to fall in love with storytelling when I was in middle school. During that time, I wanted to be a novelist. When I was in high school I got a chance to shoot a short film with my friends. That was when I realized that storytelling can also be achieved through different mediums. Literature is just one of them. The ability to create and exhibit expression through the film is what makes movies art. Filmmaking is also an art form in which you get a touch of everything: Writing, Cinematography, Acting, Editing, and Music, etc.  I also loved the creative collaboration aspect of filmmaking. During the filmmaking, we collaborate with actors, producers, and other department heads. People bring their visions together and make the films happen.

Please tell us more about your work. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
I’m a filmmaker currently located in Los Angeles. My USC graduate thesis film Mantis Club is currently on a film festival circuit. During my years at USC, I was awarded the James Bridges and Jack Larson scholarship, the Fox Fellowship Endowment, and the Irving Lerner Endowment Fund, three of the most prestigious scholarships for students at USC. My previous films have been selected for more than 30 international film festivals. I also served as an assistant director for a movie named the Day We Lit up the Sky, which scored over 20 million box office in China domestically in 2021.

Mantis Club is currently on the film circuit. It was in official selection at Annapolis Film Festival and Riverrun International Film Festival. The story of Mantis Club is set in a gender-flipped world. The logline is “In a world where females devour males during sex, Zack, a seventeen-year-old virgin is asked on his first date.” From the logline, I bet you can tell it’s one of those corky-crazy movies, haha. The idea first struck me after seeing a documentary back in 2017 during a road trip. I was in a crowded train station watching a documentary about mantises, and I was particularly captivated by the sequence about female mantises devouring males after sex. I wondered, What if women ate men after sex? How would that affect our society?

“Women eating males” is a metaphor. The film is a dark comedy that functions as social commentary. It’s a satire. I wish the story simultaneously serves as an open window for the audiences to rethink the patriarchal and heteronormative elements we experience today. What is gender, and how does gender divide power? Is it based on our society, our history, or our biology?

As a storyteller, I’m very passionate about making films about women’s empowerment, but it wasn’t easy for me to make this film happen. We shot the film during the summer of last year, which was during the pandemic. There were lots of set restrictions and we really tried hard to make it happen. We spent quite an amount of money on Covid rapid tests for the crew to ensure the set is safe.

The lesson I learned from this experience is “Don’t make a movie during the pandemic”. Haha.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I think I would bring them to Griffith observatory during sunset time. The observatory offers unobstructed views of LA. It’s very gorgeous.

For food, I would also love to have them check out Koreatown. This is my favorite area for Asian food. Melo Melo is my favorite dessert place. They offer the best coconut dessert!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my mentor Michael L. Fink. He was my mentor for my thesis film Mantis Club. He’s very encouraging and he has a great knowledge of the filmmaking process.

He gave me a lot of very wise advice, and his support was incredible. I learned so much from him.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/li_yalian/