DANTE JIAYU LIU
刘家雨
Director & Writer
Born in Changsha, Hunan, a city deep inside mainland China. Dante's life was unexpectedly influenced by world cultures. At age 14, he was sent to Oregon for his high school education. After university Dante started his internship in the North American office of Huace Film. He was later accepted to American Film Institute and is currently studying in its directing program.
Dante believes that directing is a very selfish form of art. The job of a director is to hide his ideas in moments of life, expressing them through the mixture of light, shadow, and sound. In the end, the audience should grasp the message not only from the words but also from the emotions that are hidden in the visual of the director. To Dante, the art of directing is simple yet complex, and only effective when it is sincere at the root of its nature.
Sarah Hyunji Park
박현지
Producer & Co-writer
Born in San Francisco and raised in Seoul, Korea, Sarah Hyunji Park is actively developing her career as a producer across the Pacific Ocean. She graduated from Ewha Womans [sic.] University located in Seoul, Korea, with BAs in both Christian Studies and Television and Film. She also spent a semester at Ruhr-Universität Bochum in Germany as a visiting student in 2016. During the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics and Paralympic Games, she worked as a crew member of the Olympic Channel News of the Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS).
Sarah believes that the power of narrative storytelling in film lies in the fact that it actively communicates with the audience in multilateral ways. She always views filmmaking as a way to not only present a beautiful piece of art, but to connect people and appreciate the complexity of humanity.
Guanting Du
杜冠廷
Cinematographer
Born and raised in China, Guanting Du graduated from Shanghai Theater Academy in 2017 with a BA in Film Production. In 2016, he spent a semester in New Zealand for exchange study. After graduation, he worked as a cinematographer for short films and documentaries across China for two years.
Guanting believes that delivering genuine emotions is the essential goal of filmmaking. Based on this principle, his cinematography always focuses on delivering the right mood and atmosphere to support the narrative and story.
Taylor Liyucan Chen
陈李予粲
Production Designer
Born in Xi'an, raised in Shanghai, Taylor Liyucan Chen earned a Bachelor of Science in Film and TV Production from Boston University in 2017. She experienced different positions in film productions both in US and in China. After graduation, she went back to China and started her career as an Art Director Assistant in TV Commercials. In 2018, Taylor worked on several commercials with clients including Volkswagen, Lexus, Jack Jones. Without pause, she also experimented and created work as a portrait photographer.
Taylor recognizes production design as an invisible language in filmmaking. The choices of style and color are tools for the artists to subtly bring the audience into the world of their story.
Qiyan Li
李其延
Editor
Qiyan Li is a graduate of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago with a BFA in Film, Video, New Media and Animation. After graduating, he joined the marketing and publicity department of H. Brothers, one of the biggest film companies in China. In the last year and a half, he has worked as an editor, cutting several trailers and promotion videos for feature films produced by H. Brothers, such as DEE: THE FOUR HEAVENLY KINGS and THE EIGHT HUNDRED. Now, he is working toward his MFA degree in the American Film Institute as an editor.
Qiyan believes that there is no absolute answer in filmmaking and that both experience and experiment are key to telling a story. He is willing to try everything he can to make a film work during post-production. Looking for the best solution is always his goal when he edits his films.
