Erin Li
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Erin Li is a
Taiwanese-American Taiwanese Americans () are Americans who carry full or partial ancestry from Taiwan. This includes American-born citizens who descend from migrants from Taiwan. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, 49% of Taiwanese Americans lived in the state of Califo ...
filmmaker, writer, director and producer. She has directed and written the short films ''To The Bone'' (which screened at the 2013
Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
and the 2012
Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...
), ''L.A. Coffin School'' (which screened at the 2011
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...
and the 2012
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...
) and others. She has also served as an Associate Producer on the documentaries ''Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp'' (2012), ''The Girls in the Band'' (2011), ''America The Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments'' (2011), and ''Voices Unveiled: Turkish Women Who Dare'' (2009).


Films

Her short film ''To The Bone'' was a
Film Independent The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glass ...
commissioned film that premiered at the 2013
Slamdance Film Festival The Slamdance Film Festival is an annual film festival focused on emerging artists. The annual week-long festival takes place in Park City, Utah, in late January and is the main event organized by the year-round Slamdance organization, which als ...
as well as the 2012
Los Angeles Film Festival The LA Film Festival was an annual film festival that was held in Los Angeles, California, and usually took place in June. It showcased independent, international, feature, documentary and short films, as well as web series, music videos, episod ...
. The film is about a pre-teen migrant farmworker who attempts to rebel against the status quo with unintended consequences for herself and her family. In addition to ''To the Bone'', Li has also directed a short documentary entitled "Catching the Invisible Light" for the
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
"Focus Forward" Short Documentary Initiative, which was a Semi-Finalist in the competition. The documentary is about the research done by UCLA Professors Dr. Yang Yang and Dr. Paul Weiss of the California NanoSystems Institute on transparent solar cells. Li has also directed a short film entitled ''L.A. Coffin School'' as a Visual Communications "Armed With A Camera" Fellowship film, which premiered at the 2011
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival The Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LAAPFF) – formerly known as VC FilmFest – is an annual film festival presented by Visual Communications (VC). It was established in 1983 by Linda Mabalot as a vehicle to promote Asian Pacific Amer ...
and also screened at the
San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival CAAMFest, known prior to 2013 as the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF), is presented every March in the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States as the nation’s largest showcase for new Asian American and Asia ...
, the
BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...
UrbanWorld Film Festival, and other festivals. The film stars
Elizabeth Sung Elizabeth Fong Sung (; 14 October 1954 – 22 May 2018) was a Chinese-American actress, director, and screenwriter. She was also a revered acting teacher and mentor to young performers and filmmakers in the Asian-Pacific community. Early life an ...
as a once-renowned Chinese painter who is kicked out of her son's home (the son played by Jerry Ying), prompting her to enroll in a controversial school that claims to teach people how to re-evaluate life and what it is worth by contemplating death while in a coffin. The film also stars
Michelle Krusiec Michelle Jacqueline Krusiec (born Ya-Huei Yang; ; October 2, 1974) is an American actress, writer and producer. Early life Krusiec was born in 1974 in Taiwan. She was adopted at age five and raised in America by her father's elder sister, who ha ...
,
Megan Lee Megan Lee (born September 18, 1995) is a Korean-American singer-songwriter and actress best known for her role as Sun Hi Song on ''Make It Pop'' and her singing talents on YouTube. From February 2013, Megan Lee was signed to Kim Tae-woo's (lead ...
, and Angela Ai. In 2011, Li directed the short film ''The Big Oh'' written by Moon Blauner (personal assistant to
Helen Hunt Helen Elizabeth Hunt (born June 15, 1963) is an American actress and director. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Hunt rose to fame portraying Jam ...
) starring Angela Ai, Ryan Caldwell, Bronwyn Cornelius and Angela Thomas, which is about "two single girlfriends try to help their best friend spice up her married sex life." Li has also directed a comedy short film entitled ''Who is Candy Bernardino?'' which has screened at a number of film festivals including the Daytona Beach Film Festival, the
North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival The North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Festival is an annual LGBT film festival produced by the Carolina Theater in Durham, North Carolina, typically held in mid-August. The festival has been credited in previous years as the second largest LGBT film ...
, the Downtown Independent Theater in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, and more. She has also directed and written a short drama narrative film entitled ''Pray'' about three people who each have lost a father in the September 11 attacks and who try to reconcile their faith and belief in religion; the film screened at the
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
International Film Festival. Among her other films and experimental videos include the short films ''Prison Break'', ''Mask'' and ''BFE'' (based on a scene from
Julia Cho Julia Cho (born July 5, 1975) is an American playwright and television writer. In March 2020 she was awarded the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize. Select full length plays ''99 Histories'' (2002) ''99 Histories'' is a drama portraying the ...
's BFE). Li has recently finished shooting a sci-fi short film entitled ''Kepler X-47'', which was done as part of the
American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Leade ...
's Directing Workshop for Women.


Producing

Li most recently produced (as an Associate Producer) the feature documentary directed by Jorge Hinosa entitled '' Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp'' (2012), which examines the tumultuous life of legendary Chicago pimp, Iceberg Slim. Ice-T is also one of the film's Executive Producers, and the film has screened at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
(TIFF), Doc NYC, New York's Documentary Film Festival, and more. Li has also produced (as an Associate Producer and New Media Strategist) the feature documentary directed by Judy Chaikin entitled ''The Girls in the Band'' (2011), which chronicles the struggles and triumphs of female jazz musicians from the 1920s to the present. The documentary won an Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature at the
Palm Springs International Film Festival Palm Springs International Film Festival (sometimes stylized shortly as PSIFF) is a film festival held in Palm Springs, California. Originally promoted by Mayor Sonny Bono and then sponsored by Nortel,here for Table of Contents it started in 1989 ...
, as well as Best Music Documentary from the
DOCUTAH Film Festival The DOCUTAH International Documentary Film Festival is an annual film festival, held in the Fall, that strives to recognize some of the best in international documentary films. Hosted by Utah Tech University (UT; formerly known as Dixie State Uni ...
. Li has also been an Associate Producer on the feature documentaries ''America The Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments'' (2011) (a documentary on America's obsession with dieting) and ''Voices Unveiled: Turkish Women Who Dare'' (2009) (a documentary that juxtaposes the Islamic traditions and Western culture of Istanbul in the lives of three Turkish women).


Filmography (incomplete list)

* ''Kepler X-47'' - short film (11:47)


Background

Li studied painting at the Llotja School of Art and Design in
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain, and is a graduate of
Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...
, majoring in business administration and drama and producing short films with PBS, WQED and the school's School of Drama while there.Erin Li, About, http://erinli.com/pray/


References


External links


Erin Li's Official SiteErin Li Brings Filmmaking and Storytelling to Life
{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Erin American film producers American people of Taiwanese descent American women writers of Chinese descent Living people American women film producers Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women