Global Filmmaker Yilei Zhou
Don’t you just love smart people who make their dreams come true? Yilei Zhou is one of those incredibly interesting and highly intelligent people who don’t just sit around and wish and hope that something will happen but rather she is one who insists and then knows that it will indeed happen.
Yilei is a filmmaker from Shanghai, China, and has only been in the states for a few years. Yet, she has seemed to fully grasp the system of how things get done and how dreams (her dreams) can actually come alive. How do you think she made her film He And Rock & Roll happen? Did she call mums and daddums to wire the dough to her account, or did she find a really inventive and creative way to raise the money that would show what she was really made of ? Well, the way this article is going, it’s not hard to guess that the second choice is the correct one.
Yilei went on to Kickstarter and in her campaign video, she talked about her inspiration and her plan, showing people her passion and her belief, attracting filmmakers and movie lovers all over the world to become backers. She got well over the amount she required to make her highly praised, award-winning movie.
He And Rock & Roll has been invited to many well known international film festivals such as the Savannah Film Festival and has been positively reviewed by many critics and audience members alike. It’s a retro movie about a 1970s rock and roll band and how the lead singer and the lead guitarist fall in love. Yes, both of them are men and the film embraces the fluidity and ambiguity of 1970s sexuality within the milieu of “Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll”.
Not only did Kickstarter show who Yilei was but so did He And Rock & Roll. It demonstrated that she is a woman with a fearless heart and will not back down from any challenge including writing and directing a film whose cultural elements are so remote from her own background. It showed that she is unafraid to tackle controversial topics like homosexuality and that she wants her viewpoint about equal love to be heard.
Yilei’s strong personality was also reflected in the film in the distinct and memorable characters from leads to supporting roles. It also showed that she can direct quite competently and artistically while keeping control of her cast, crew and budget. Yilei has established herself as a filmmaker who can do any type of film and still connect with the sensitivity and entertainment needs of an audience. Yilei has a number of projects on her schedule and we are excited to see them all.