Meet Xiayang Li | Writer/director

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

Hi Xiayang, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risks are innate to the very definition of life, and even more true for artists and filmmakers. Coming to the United States was certainly a risk I took in 2014. Upon that decision, my life changed drastically, and I felt forced to adapt to the new environment. Nevertheless, the very decision led me to become a filmmaker. Creatively speaking, I believe that no good stories should come from a place of absolute comfort. Just the all the good films that have been around, we want stories with rish-takers.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’ve been studying under my mother who is a professional therapist. I like to write stories with complex characters with Psychology as the basis. My most recent short film, “The Act of Crying,” a USC MFA thesis production, is currently competing in the film festival circuit. We are hoping to hear good news soon.

What sets me apart as a writer is the way I craft a character and their journey. I do a lot of character studies and like to explore their psychological traumas, which shape their personality. The Act of Crying, for example, is about a Chinese man who cannot cry and how he works with an acting coach to prepare for an upcoming project, which turns out to be his father’s funeral. The story, however, is really about how one’s resentment for their loved ones can refrain them from a visceral and genuine emotional response, and that it is okay for one to be truthful to their feelings first, even though most may consider it as selfish.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would surely take them down to Pasadena. The restaurants there are fantastic. I would then take them to stroll through the City Hall, which looks even better at night. I like conversations in quiet places so a speakeasy bar playing light jazz would be another ideal destination.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Silenced is a 2011 South Korean film that tells the story of injustice and abuse of authority. The film is based on the real events of sexual abuse against disabled children at a school for the deaf. The perpetrators exploited the system with their connections and were never held accountable for their heinous crimes. The newspapers reported it, and nothing happened. It was written into a book, and there was some conversation. It was then adapted into a film, which sparked public outrage. The public pressured the Korean National Assembly to pass a new law, named after the film, to remove any statute of limitation for sexual assault against the disabled and minors. A film that changed the law. And that’s why I decided to become a filmmaker.

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

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiayang-li/

Image Credits
Photograph by Michael Harrison Sparks