Translating Livia Ming
Raleigh, North Carolina | Film Short
Drama
Translating Livia Ming tells a story many of us have experienced -- not feeling enough of either part of ourselves to belong. Utilizing an Asian American lead in this visual representation of an experience relatable to all allows for any audience to feel connected to this story and this project.
Translating Livia Ming
Raleigh, North Carolina | Film Short
Drama
1 Campaigns | North Carolina, United States
Green Light
This campaign raised $6,083 for production. Follow the filmmaker to receive future updates on this project.
75 supporters | followers
Enter the amount you would like to pledge
Translating Livia Ming tells a story many of us have experienced -- not feeling enough of either part of ourselves to belong. Utilizing an Asian American lead in this visual representation of an experience relatable to all allows for any audience to feel connected to this story and this project.
About The Project
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"And when, in the city in which I love you,
even my most excellent song goes unanswered,
and I mount the scabbed streets,
the long shouts of avenues,
and tunnel sunken night in search of you...."
Li Yung Lee
After struggling to make it day to day, it seems Livia finally caught a break. Her book is about to be published, she's can pay her half of the rent, and the cute boy from the book store agreed to let her tutor him in Mandarin. But everything is falling into place a little too well...
As one thing comes crashing down after another, Livia has to figure out how to hold onto the pieces of her life and herself, slipping through the cracks.
Livia Ming is an ambitious and unabashedly sincere27-year-old Asian American woman. She’s adopted and eager to find out who she is. Writing for a holiday cards company, she’s eager to publish something of her own.
Evan writes for travel magazines, which made him enthusiastic and adventurous, or maybe the other way around. Livia finds her dry wit a match when she met Evan, who jolts her up to see the world in a different way.
Writer/Director
Patrick (Qingyang) Wei
A filmmaker, photographer, screenwriter, and a five-time Academy Award watcher, Patrick is currently a senior studying Cinema & Television Arts and Creative Writing at Elon University. He aspires to be a professional writer/director one day, and nothing has stopped him from reaching for his dreams.
________________________________________________
Producer
Cameron Wolfslayer
In addition to her part time career as a werewolf hunter, Cameron is a junior at Elon University studying Cinema & Television Arts. Currently serving as president for Elon's student run production company, she hopes to become a professional producer one day.
________________________________________________
Campaign Manager
Lumiere Rostick
A senior at Elon University, Lumiere is a fun, exciting, super smart, and obviously very humble ball of light (i.e. the name). A double major in Strategic Communications and Cinema & Television Arts, she plans to move to New York after graduation and start her career in videography for an LGBTQ+ organization, or more broadly, the "gaysTM". Her experience working with the student run PR firm and the production company on campus has given her only marginally more qualifications than anyone else to do this job.
With the success of To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Crazy Rich Asians, it's clear audiences are ready for Asian representation in film — and want more of it. But our story isn't about jumping on the diversity train. Our writer and director is a senior in film school whose student visa is only valid for a short while more. While most seniors are just worried about getting a job or face moving back in with their parents, Patrick along with many others have to worry about potentially going back to their home countries.
Having lived in the US for over a decade, Patrick has to grapple with the idea of transplanting himself back into China which doesn't quite feel like home anymore. At the same time, the US has never really felt like home either. As he says "I feel like I'm too Chinese for America, but too American for China." This feeling of being in-between is a story often told with Latin American communities but rarely from an Asian perspective. Amidst the political climate where many are being sent back to countries they don't feel are home either, this story is important yesterday, tomorrow, and especially now.
Much of the focus of TLM is on Livia and her attempt at fitting into the world around her. We want to utilize warm muted colors to emphasize the haziness of her existence at this point in her life while also calling on important colors in Chinese culture which include earth tones. While reds, yellows, and oranges will be most prominent, moments will be highlighted with blues and greens to show the complexity of both Livia as a character and a representation of her culture.
Here's how your contributions (which we are all incredibly grateful for thank you in advance) will be utilized.
Currently this is our baseline, utilizing the funds as sparingly as we can to make a beautiful project. If we can go above and beyond, we can utilze the extra funds for a professional coloring house, a trailer cut and reshoots among other things, to make TLM a true piece of art.
Anything you can contribute will be a big help to us. We really believe in this story and hope you do too. Every penny will go towards bringing Livia and all her untranslatable qualities, to life on screen. And as a thank you from us, check out the awesome things you can get for pledging!! -->
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Actors
Costs $1,000
This will go towards the talented actors to breathe life into our characters. Maybe Awkwafina...
Score
Costs $200
Between music rights and composing original pieces, this will fund the soundtrack of the flim.
Travel
Costs $900
This will go towards flying in and housing our actors, and certain crew members from out of town.
Festivals
Costs $300
Once our masterpiece is created, we want to share it with the world. This helps put TLM in festivals
Director of Photograhy
Costs $1,300
A week with our talented DP requires significant funds for his services and his equipment rental
Locations
Costs $1,000
Where you tell the story is almost as important as how. This will cover rentals for our locations
Catering
Costs $900
Feeding 20+ people for a week isn't cheap. This will go towards keeping everyone fed and alive.
Costuming and Props
Costs $800
To dress each actor and set, these funds will go towards transforming our characters and locations.
Insurance
Costs $600
This is just to cover our asses if something goes wrong (which it won't but just in case ya know?)
Share this update!
About This Team
Each member of our team comes from diverse backgrounds, whether that be from another country, different socioeconomic status, various races, etc. Yet we've all come together to tell a beautiful story about adapting to the world around you while still staying true to who you are. From the director and producers to our PA's, everyone understands the core and truth of this project. Just like with untranslatable words, even if we can't understand someone exactly doesn't mean they're any less valuable, important, or impactful to this world.
Writer/Director
Patrick Wei
A filmmaker, photographer, screenwriter, and a five time Academy Award watcher, Patrick is currently a senior studying Cinema & Television Arts and Creative Writing at Elon University. He aspires to be a professional writer/director one day, and nothing has stopped him from reaching for his dreams.
_________________________________________________________________________
Producer
Cameron Wolfslayer
In addition to her part time career as a werewolf hunter, Cameron is a junior at Elon University studying Cinema & Television Arts. Currently serving as president for Elon's student run production company, she hopes to become a professional producer one day.
_________________________________________________________________________
Sound Designer
Jess Burchett
Jess Burchett is a rising senior with a double major in Music Production & Recording Arts and Psychology. With a strong background in musical recording techniques, she is eager to apply her skills in audio to the film realm. She is inspired by the story of Livia's identity exploration, and hopes that you are, too.
_________________________________________________________________________
Graphic Designer
Kyra Letsinger
A junior at Elon University, Kyra works on campus and often juggles various independent projects with grace. While she loves Elon, her heart belongs in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. She plans to move back and start a career in public relations upon graduation.
_________________________________________________________________________
Campaign Manager
Lumiere Rostick
A senior at Elon University, Lumiere is a fun, exciting, super smart, and obviously very humble ball of light (i.e. the name). A double major in Strategic Communications and Cinema & Television Arts, she plans to move to New York after graduation and start her career in videography for an LGBTQ+ organization, or more broadly, the "gaysTM". Her experience working with the student run PR firm and the production company on campus has given her only marginally more qualifications than anyone else to do this job.
Current Team
Incentives
- The Story
- Wishlist
- Updates
- The Team
- Community
Mission Statement
The Story
"And when, in the city in which I love you,
even my most excellent song goes unanswered,
and I mount the scabbed streets,
the long shouts of avenues,
and tunnel sunken night in search of you...."
Li Yung Lee
After struggling to make it day to day, it seems Livia finally caught a break. Her book is about to be published, she's can pay her half of the rent, and the cute boy from the book store agreed to let her tutor him in Mandarin. But everything is falling into place a little too well...
As one thing comes crashing down after another, Livia has to figure out how to hold onto the pieces of her life and herself, slipping through the cracks.
Livia Ming is an ambitious and unabashedly sincere27-year-old Asian American woman. She’s adopted and eager to find out who she is. Writing for a holiday cards company, she’s eager to publish something of her own.
Evan writes for travel magazines, which made him enthusiastic and adventurous, or maybe the other way around. Livia finds her dry wit a match when she met Evan, who jolts her up to see the world in a different way.
Writer/Director
Patrick (Qingyang) Wei
A filmmaker, photographer, screenwriter, and a five-time Academy Award watcher, Patrick is currently a senior studying Cinema & Television Arts and Creative Writing at Elon University. He aspires to be a professional writer/director one day, and nothing has stopped him from reaching for his dreams.
________________________________________________
Producer
Cameron Wolfslayer
In addition to her part time career as a werewolf hunter, Cameron is a junior at Elon University studying Cinema & Television Arts. Currently serving as president for Elon's student run production company, she hopes to become a professional producer one day.
________________________________________________
Campaign Manager
Lumiere Rostick
A senior at Elon University, Lumiere is a fun, exciting, super smart, and obviously very humble ball of light (i.e. the name). A double major in Strategic Communications and Cinema & Television Arts, she plans to move to New York after graduation and start her career in videography for an LGBTQ+ organization, or more broadly, the "gaysTM". Her experience working with the student run PR firm and the production company on campus has given her only marginally more qualifications than anyone else to do this job.
With the success of To All the Boys I've Loved Before and Crazy Rich Asians, it's clear audiences are ready for Asian representation in film — and want more of it. But our story isn't about jumping on the diversity train. Our writer and director is a senior in film school whose student visa is only valid for a short while more. While most seniors are just worried about getting a job or face moving back in with their parents, Patrick along with many others have to worry about potentially going back to their home countries.
Having lived in the US for over a decade, Patrick has to grapple with the idea of transplanting himself back into China which doesn't quite feel like home anymore. At the same time, the US has never really felt like home either. As he says "I feel like I'm too Chinese for America, but too American for China." This feeling of being in-between is a story often told with Latin American communities but rarely from an Asian perspective. Amidst the political climate where many are being sent back to countries they don't feel are home either, this story is important yesterday, tomorrow, and especially now.
Much of the focus of TLM is on Livia and her attempt at fitting into the world around her. We want to utilize warm muted colors to emphasize the haziness of her existence at this point in her life while also calling on important colors in Chinese culture which include earth tones. While reds, yellows, and oranges will be most prominent, moments will be highlighted with blues and greens to show the complexity of both Livia as a character and a representation of her culture.
Here's how your contributions (which we are all incredibly grateful for thank you in advance) will be utilized.
Currently this is our baseline, utilizing the funds as sparingly as we can to make a beautiful project. If we can go above and beyond, we can utilze the extra funds for a professional coloring house, a trailer cut and reshoots among other things, to make TLM a true piece of art.
Anything you can contribute will be a big help to us. We really believe in this story and hope you do too. Every penny will go towards bringing Livia and all her untranslatable qualities, to life on screen. And as a thank you from us, check out the awesome things you can get for pledging!! -->
Wishlist
Use the WishList to Pledge cash and Loan items - or - Make a pledge by selecting an Incentive directly.
Actors
Costs $1,000
This will go towards the talented actors to breathe life into our characters. Maybe Awkwafina...
Score
Costs $200
Between music rights and composing original pieces, this will fund the soundtrack of the flim.
Travel
Costs $900
This will go towards flying in and housing our actors, and certain crew members from out of town.
Festivals
Costs $300
Once our masterpiece is created, we want to share it with the world. This helps put TLM in festivals
Director of Photograhy
Costs $1,300
A week with our talented DP requires significant funds for his services and his equipment rental
Locations
Costs $1,000
Where you tell the story is almost as important as how. This will cover rentals for our locations
Catering
Costs $900
Feeding 20+ people for a week isn't cheap. This will go towards keeping everyone fed and alive.
Costuming and Props
Costs $800
To dress each actor and set, these funds will go towards transforming our characters and locations.
Insurance
Costs $600
This is just to cover our asses if something goes wrong (which it won't but just in case ya know?)
Share this update!
About This Team
Each member of our team comes from diverse backgrounds, whether that be from another country, different socioeconomic status, various races, etc. Yet we've all come together to tell a beautiful story about adapting to the world around you while still staying true to who you are. From the director and producers to our PA's, everyone understands the core and truth of this project. Just like with untranslatable words, even if we can't understand someone exactly doesn't mean they're any less valuable, important, or impactful to this world.
Writer/Director
Patrick Wei
A filmmaker, photographer, screenwriter, and a five time Academy Award watcher, Patrick is currently a senior studying Cinema & Television Arts and Creative Writing at Elon University. He aspires to be a professional writer/director one day, and nothing has stopped him from reaching for his dreams.
_________________________________________________________________________
Producer
Cameron Wolfslayer
In addition to her part time career as a werewolf hunter, Cameron is a junior at Elon University studying Cinema & Television Arts. Currently serving as president for Elon's student run production company, she hopes to become a professional producer one day.
_________________________________________________________________________
Sound Designer
Jess Burchett
Jess Burchett is a rising senior with a double major in Music Production & Recording Arts and Psychology. With a strong background in musical recording techniques, she is eager to apply her skills in audio to the film realm. She is inspired by the story of Livia's identity exploration, and hopes that you are, too.
_________________________________________________________________________
Graphic Designer
Kyra Letsinger
A junior at Elon University, Kyra works on campus and often juggles various independent projects with grace. While she loves Elon, her heart belongs in her hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee. She plans to move back and start a career in public relations upon graduation.
_________________________________________________________________________
Campaign Manager
Lumiere Rostick
A senior at Elon University, Lumiere is a fun, exciting, super smart, and obviously very humble ball of light (i.e. the name). A double major in Strategic Communications and Cinema & Television Arts, she plans to move to New York after graduation and start her career in videography for an LGBTQ+ organization, or more broadly, the "gaysTM". Her experience working with the student run PR firm and the production company on campus has given her only marginally more qualifications than anyone else to do this job.