Meet Yinghui Li | Writer/Director

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

Hi Yinghui, what inspires you?
As a filmmaker, I’m most inspired by the emotional journey and life experience of myself and the people around me. I like to listen to people’s stories and find the emotional truths that have universal resonance. In terms of the style of storytelling, I’m hugely inspired by the novels of Gabriel García Márquez, whose use of magical realism has always been fascinating to me. I’m also a big fan of Ari Aster and Darren Aronofsky for the interweaving dream worlds and realities in their films and their incredibly imaginative visual storytelling styles.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m a current grad student in the MFA Film Production program with Directing emphasis at Dodge College of Film and Media Arts, Chapman University. It had been a very long way before I could start my filmmaking journey. I was born and raised in China and I had my bachelor degree in Economics from Communication University of China. I became obsessed with films since high school, but I didn’t have any resources or connections that I could use to pursue my filmmaking dream back then. It was extremely hard for me to set my foot in the industry. The biggest reason why I decided to go to film school after my undergrad was to learn the craft of filmmaking and networking with other filmmakers.

My filmmaking journey didn’t start super early but I’m glad that I’m finally on the right track of my life after so many trials and errors. The films that I’m most interested in are body horrors and psychological thrillers. I also like to incorporate magical realism into my storytelling, which is hugely influenced by One Hundred Years of Solitude, one of my favorite novels of all time. Pain and solitude are the subjects that I often explore in my films. I believe they are one of the most universal feelings that we all have as human beings and at the same time, they can be extremely personal. That’s something that intrigues me all the time and keeps pushing me to explore deeper and deeper.

Even though I’m mainly focused on making horrors and thrillers right now, there has always been a special place in my heart for poetic cinema. I love the films of Andrei Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr. It always amazes me how they could bring out the poetic potential in films by sculpturing time and space in such a delicate way. One of my biggest dreams is to make a film with such poetic aesthetics that is set in China, where I have very deep cultural attachments.

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 highly recommend checking out Huntington Library in Pasadena. It’s a botanical garden with amazing view. I also love Laguna Beach. There’re many nice shops and restaurants there. Malibu Creek State Park is worth checking out as well. There’s a rock pool deep inside the park and it’s a great place to go in summer.

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?
I’d like to give my shoutout to my friend and collaborator Jen Baker, who has been an incredible support and role model for me. During our shared one year at Chapman, we worked on a web series pilot project together and it was one of the best collaborative experiences I’ve ever had.

Website: www.yinghuifilms.com

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Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/yinghui-li-a01375262

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