Meet Dazhi Huang | Filmmaker & Videographer

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

Hi Dazhi, alright, let’s jump in with a deep one – what’s you’re definition for success?
My definition of success is that people can feel how I feel through my work and find that click- which creates a collective memory that reflects the mentality of our time. It’s like having a bunch of friends that you’ve never met, but you know you are going to click instantly!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
It has never been a smooth road, there are lots of defeats and rejections, and that’s why it’s always essential that friends, family, and people who understand me are there for me through the hard times. Thus I’m lucky and privileged- I’ve been given enough support to have the courage to face what’s to come.

I have another struggle: the fear that my works couldn’t keep up with the time and very moment we live in, but eventually, I let go of such fear and believed in my gut when I was creating new works. When we take some time and look back at certain works, we will find them surprisingly timely, and I believe this will be how people see my pieces one day.

I mostly make narrative short films that combine documentary quality and mentality. I’ve been known for a hyper-realistic with melodrama approach among my filmmaking friends. In my opinion, many of our day-to-day behaviors do not match our preconceived logic. If we recreate our real-life behavior in a movie exactly as it is, the audiences will feel over-the-top and even slap-sticks. And this is why melodrama is the best medium to reflect our state of mind in real life and society’s collective mentality.

Beyond that, the imagery is also a big part of my films. They are hyper-realistic, sensational, and, most importantly, opinionated. I like to carefully construct the elements in my framings to communicate my worldviews with others in an aesthetically-pleasing way. And I want every audience to feel the sensuality after watching my film, whether they like it or not.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would make some Saturday-night-out suggestions: My favorite spot in LA is Figueroa st., where I lived. I would start the evening eating Pupusas at Las Cazuelas, then go for a drink at Goodhousekeeping – they used to have a good cocktail called The Vaccine. Then I will head to Goldline with my friend, right next to the actual Metro Goldline, take a sip of my favorite Margarita, and watch the passing cars as the train goes by down the street, listen to the bells ringing. Then it must have been past midnight, time to head to DTLA! The parties in the warehouses around Olympic Blvd must have just started! Time to drive with your friend or hop on a Uber together!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My biggest mentor in life is time. Without the progress of time, I’d learn nothing. So shoutout to time; you always win! The second and third are my mom and dad and friends; they deserve the rest of 99.8% of the credits! So shoutout to them too!

Website: http://www.dazhi-huang.com/

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

Youtube: https://vimeo.com/user17265324

Image Credits
1. Sunset Park, warehouse DP: Eloise Sherrid; Dir: Dazhi Huang 2 & 3. Xmas eve eve DP: Gianna Badiali; Dir: Dazhi Huang 4 & 5. Travel through the milky way (Music video) Dir & DP: Dazhi Huang; Musician: Fifi Zhang