Divide Magazine: Issue 12 (2024.12)
FILM DAILY (2025.3)
LAWeekly: Structure As Memory, Silence As Frame - The Cinema of Jinyang Li
My email address:
contact@jinyangli.art
Book meetings with me:
https://cal.com/contact-jinyangli.art
*If it is our first time talking, make sure you email me about the details of the meeting beforehand
The World Is My Oyster
Hi, I’m Jinyang.
I’m a filmmaker and storyteller who has always been drawn to the quiet things. Pauses, glances, silences that often reveal more than dialogue ever could. I grew up in Chongqing, studied business at Shanghai International Studies University, and later moved to the United States to pursue an MFA in Film Production at Ohio University. Somewhere along the way, filmmaking stopped being an interest and became the way I make sense of the world.
My work often lives in the space between memory and reality. I’m interested in emotional tension, unspoken relationships, and the quiet moments that shape people more than dramatic events do. I’m drawn to restrained performances, strong visual composition, and stories that linger after they end.
My thesis short film Embers has been traveling on the international festival circuit and gaining recognition along the way. It had its world premiere at Short. Sweet. Film Fest in 2026 and was named a Remi Award Finalist at WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. The film has also received awards including Best Cinematography at AltFF Alternative Film Festival, Best Student Female Director at IndieX Film Fest, Best Drama Short at London International Film Awards, Best Student Film at Luleå International Film Festival, and Best Drama at Boden International Film Festival.
Before that, my short film Back to the Lake screened at festivals in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. After the film’s screenings and media coverage, I was invited to meet with Focus Features in Los Angeles, where I had a great conversation with Development and Acquisitions Director Julia Iglesias about filmmaker growth, project development, and building a long term creative career. That experience gave me a clearer sense of where I wanted to go next.
Recently, I founded Aureen Films LLC, a California based production company created as a home for my future projects and original IP. Right now, the company is focused on developing self-funded and crowdfunded independent films while I continue actively pursuing grants, labs, and artist support opportunities. It is also designed to build a more professional production structure for project management, financing, rights protection, and long term creative growth as larger opportunities emerge.
I’m now based in Los Angeles and always open to thoughtful conversations, creative collaborations, and meeting people who care deeply about stories. Whether a project is intimate, strange, grounded, or ambitious, I’m interested in what it’s trying to say and how cinema can say it best.
I love cats, great sound design, and the strangely satisfying feeling of a perfectly timed cut. Thanks for stopping by. Feel free to say hello, talk film, or exchange cat photos anytime.