Kelly Li
The Official Blog of filmmaker, Kelly Li.Official Website at:
http://www.KellyLi.com
“You know what, screw this. I’m gonna do this, and I’m gonna do it for me. I don’t care what anyone says.
That was what I said almost five years ago (in terms of my aspirations towards my goal of becoming a successful filmmaker). I realized today that it’s been a little while since I’ve really focused on myself and really thought about where I am at this point in my life and where I should go next in terms of my career. It’s time to catch up with me.
Most recently, I’ve been working on a commissioned short for this year’s Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2012 (LAAPFF) as part of their “Armed with a Camera” Fellowship. Last time I was a part of LAAPFF was back in 2010 when I won that year’s Best Short Screenplay Award. It’s been a great community to be a part of thus far, and I’m glad to be back and working with a group of great fellow filmmakers. Our films will be screening at the Director’s Guild of America on May 13th, and I can’t wait to show everyone my new one entitled, “Café Elevé” starring Julie Zhan.
Being a storyteller, more than just having a vision and a voice for a story you want to tell, is about having lived enough of life so that you can tell those stories realistically, in a way that’s not imagined feelings but ones that you’ve felt and can project onto the screen through what you do. I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of living in the past five years, also told new stories, but I still feel like I’m running behind.
Taking a big step back and looking at the bigger picture, I’ve come to realize life is about learning how to be patient when we’re creatures of complete impatience in this smartphone-induced world of immediacy. Things will come when they’re supposed to, but they won’t come by just sitting around and waiting. I’ve done a lot I can be proud of in the past five years, but I know that I could be doing so much more. It’s time for me to be a little more selfish and focus on doing whatever it takes to accomplish my dreams and my goals. Hopefully along the way, I can still experience a life full of love, laughter, and happiness.
To the next step!
-Kelly
During the last week of every year, I usually reflect back on the past 12 months - the good, the bad, and everything in between. This year was no different.
I look back on pictures and think back to memories that prove 2011 was/ is (for the next 9 1/2 hours) definitely a year of growth and transition, in some ways much more so than others.
A quick recap of 2011 (the good parts):
This year, I also lost a person who was incredibly important to me. He was a man whom I wish I could have gotten to know more than I was able to, but he was a man loved by many. I continue to learn more about him through the memories and moments shared by those who loved him.
From something of sadness and loss, this year I learned that life is ultimately but a moment, a spec in the history of this vast universe. I’m a thinker… or actually, an OVER-thinker. It’s just a part of who I am. However, the older I get, and the more I realize that life should not be about the words you left unsaid, the things you wish you did, and the dreams that never became a reality.
As one year ends and a new one is about to begin, I will continue to speak with truth, act with integrity, love with passion, and live a life with no regrets.
