Meet Jiajie (Jasper) Liu | Film Director & Screenwriter

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jiajie (Jasper) Liu and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jiajie (Jasper), what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
My story with film started In middle school. I saw the film Dances with Wolves. Everything in that film is perfect. That was the first time I realized that I want to be a filmmaker. I started attending filmmaking summer camps, film workshops, and worked as a volunteer in film festivals. I attended basically every event related to film. I met Sido Lyu at the Shanghai International Film Festival. She is an independent filmmaker who is working for multiple film festivals. I asked her what is a good film. She said: a good story, well told. Those words are so simple to understand but so hard to achieve. I have started writing scripts as practice since then. I dropped out of a local highschool and came to the United States, just because I want to study in a highschool which provides film workshops. In my senior year of highschool, I shot my first short film. It didn’t go well. What I learned in film workshops wasn’t enough to make the kind of film I want. At that moment, I realized that I must learn technical and practical skills, critical thinking about film, and develop a precise language and aesthetic for personal articulation. I need to go to a film school to make me a better filmmaker. When I mentioned it to my parents, I was scared. Because I am the first one in my family who decided to study art. Luckily, my family supports me. Therefore, I went to Savannah College of Art and Design(SCAD). I worked on more than 50 student film sets during my college time. I learned a lot about directing from my professors and other directors I worked with. Although I am a director, I am willing to work in different positions because I need to know how everything works before I give direction to my department heads. During college, I also developed my skills as a gaffer.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I don’t narrow myself down to a specific genre although most of my films are drama films. In my opinion, no matter what genre it is, it’s always a story about people. When I write a script, I always start with creating a character. I believe that if a character is real enough, the character will finish the story by him/herself. I want my film to be slow, very slow. I prefer using some ‘useless’ scenes to help build a character instead of pushing the story forward. My favorite director, Edward Yang, is a master in this field. His films contain countless characters, and each of his characters are vivid. In my opinion, a story should flow out of characters naturally. A good film should provide a space to let audiences imagine. However, it is hard to tell a story slowly in a short film. I believe those stories I wrote are worthy to be shown in this way. That is why I want to keep learning. I am not satisfied with my films.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Edward Yang is a taiwanese director who influnced me a lot. To me, he is the greatest director of all time. His storytelling style is very unique. Some directors tell stories, he doesn’t. He lets the story present itself to audiences.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jasperliu_film/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jiajie-liu-686abb244/

Image Credits
Jiajie (Jasper) Liu