Leslie Tai
Filmmaker Biography
Leslie Tai (b. 1983) is an emerging independent filmmaker hailing originally from San Francisco, California. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design|Media Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), studied Sculpture and Installation Art at Accademia di belle Arti di Brera in Milan, Italy and Advanced Documentary Production at UCLA’s School of Film and Television. Leslie was recipient of the U.S. Fulbright Scholarship (2007-2008) for documentary filmmaking in China, during the period in which she completed her first feature length documentary film, Sister Heaven Sister Earth (2009). Leslie continues to pursue independent film projects with the support of Caochangdi Workstation documentary film studio (Beijing) and mentor Wu Wenguang. Lonely Lotus (2010) is her second feature length documentary.
Synopsis:
Throughout my growing up in America, my Chinese grandmother scavenged through the bags of eager cast-offs that my mother set aside for donation. Over the years, she has rescued nearly every single article of clothing I have worn since I was born. Grandma’s vintage clothing collection is spread over eight rooms, three countr...
Synopsis:
Two tenacious 24-year-old Chinese girls born in the Year of the Pig—Leslie, born and raised in America, aspiring to make her first film, and Fenfen, born in China’s forsaken countryside, a foot massage girl aspiring to change her fate—become entangled in a mother-daughter love triangle. Fenfen meets her benefactre...