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

Hi Likun, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
When it’s 51 for and 49 against, keep going.

I tell myself, even if there’s only a slight preference for ‘keep going,’ that preference is worth something. Many times throughout my life, my decision to choose a creative career path has been challenged. It’s hard to pursue for almost everyone and even harder for someone who comes from another country. So, whenever the road gets rough and my heart hesitates, I ask myself, is my path still the one I want? If the answer is yes, I keep going and let the journey unfold.

But, when it will cost you your life, give up.

I know it sounds extreme, but a lot of factors in life can cost you your life. For example, poverty. I remember a saying one professor shared: “Don’t make a plan B for your life because that plan B will become your Plan A.” He meant to encourage us to be persistent in our goals but after a decade, real life taught me the opposite. Please have a plan B for your life because that plan B will make sure you survive.

Some might ask, “Will we still risk it all if we have comfort and stability?” My answer: “If comfort and stability don’t encourage you to chase your dream, that means your dream has been achieved.”

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’m currently working on Soda, a feature-length screenplay. Born and raised Chinese, my sexual ignorance cost me my safety and nearly my life so I wanted to shoot a film which explores the difference in sexual culture and education and the pitfalls in exploring something… new. Under the background of international students surviving in a foreign country, Soda is about two sexually confused ladies who meet, become best friends, and get lost in their inexperience. Will they be able to overcome  their emotional and cultural obstacles in order to get what they desperately want, or will their upbringing keep them silent? Join them as they explore just what it means to love someone and escape from familial and cultural chains.

After devoting myself to acting for a decade, I’m becoming more aware of my own community – the international students. We are a group that easily becomes passersby and a group that can be easily violated without consequences. I’m writing, directing, and acting in our own stories, hoping to find our own belonging.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
LA Phil to attend a classical music concert. Classical music is way underestimated. If you let it speak, the strength of its wordless communication exceeds expectations, soothing and reviving even the most weary of souls. A classical music concert forces you to exist in a wordless environment where you have to use all your other senses to experience it, quieting our overthinking mind and encouraging us to become more sensitive to everything else that’s happening in the room.

A great place for artists to rest their minds, find inspiration, or simply have a pleasant time.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

For us international students, friends are all we have. They become our chosen family and I feel so lucky and grateful to have them.

Susan Ziyao Xie is one of my best friends. In 2023, I encountered a severe career burnout where I felt like I couldn’t do it for a minute longer. I ran to her house and cried for help. She said, “The moment you give up, the game is over.” And then she took me to watch the movie “The First Slam Dunk” from which she quoted the line. I think it’s in the moment you want to give up that friends become vital. They become the solid ground that keeps you sane and comfort you. And then they send you back to where you have always wanted to be – to keep going.

Enjing Angie Li is another best friend who has believed in me every step of the way and supported me any way she can. I am wholeheartedly full of appreciation for all that she has done for me.

Website: www.likunjing.com

Instagram: jing_li_kun

Facebook: likun jing

Image Credits
Susan Ziyao Xie, Shiqing Ban, Ilya Chegodar,

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