She graduated from Shanghai Jiao Tong University with a Ph. D. in statistics from the State University of New York, where She worked on Wall Street as a quantitative financial analyst, CFA certified financial analyst, and became an independent writer and director in 2013.
Question 1: “A Precious Heart” (你最珍贵) is a film about students in a Chinese university and the main character overcoming his own personal shortcomings so he can graduate and do something useful for society. What inspired this story?
Answer: This film was inspired by an interview. I was then making a TV series about finance. I interviewed a very famous fund company in Beijing. By chance, I learned that this fund company was employing three interns. However, the applicants were over one thousand and they all came from the top three universities in Beijing. That means, the graduates who are not from the top three universities are not qualified for application at all. One thousand graduates from the top universities were competing for three intern positions. They tried to get in by using their social network. I came to think that why the competition was so fierce? Do these student really love finance? Or, is it just because finance is the most profitable job? Do they really what they demand in their hearts? Or, are they being drowned by the torrent of the society? What role will the education play in our life? With these questions in mind, I decided to write a film about money, education and ideal.
Question 2: The film’s main character is initially caught in a rut, seeking to be a successful businessman and entrepreneur when his skills and talents actually lie in another direction. Is this a common among young people?
Answer: I think this question involves whether the young people are doing what they really like or are aimless, just obeying their parents’ expectation to do the jobs that are defined by the public as the successful jobs or the profitable jobs. I believe in the saying that God gives everyone a special talent. If one discovers the talent, he or she can live a good life on the talent and can enjoy it spiritually. Maybe many of the young people haven’t found such a way to the true happiness.
Question 3: Dou Li, the director of “A Precious Heart” (你最珍贵) worked as a financial analyst on Wall Street before returning to China and becoming a film-maker. What prompted this change of career and how did her experience in finance affect the content of this film?
Answer: What I did before was taking the so-called success defined by the public as my ideal. So, over a decade, I was eager to enter the finance sector. I realized the ideal in USA. But I had no feeling of achievement and happiness from this profession. Later on, by chance, I wrote a script for someone else. I came to realize that when one is doing the thing he really likes, he would be more satisfied than having money. So, I decided to choose another kind of life.
I was majoring in mathematics in a Chinese university. When I went to USA, I was a doctorate in statistics. Many of my classmates are working in finance. I have contacted some entrepreneurs. I am always thinking about the relationship between money and life by learning their stories and my own experience. That is what I want to express in this film.
Question 4: Having studied in both the USA and China, how do the two higher-education systems compare?
Answer: I think, as affected by Gaokao, the Chinese college entrance examination, Chinese education emphasizes the competence to answer the question. Such a kind of education has a natural demerit. It suppresses thinking. On the contrast, American education values the competence of thinking. That is why they are leading in science and technology. In addition, American schools appreciate sports from the young age. Sports can not only strengthen our body but also cultivate our awareness of team work. The children can develop the spirit of overcoming difficulties. I hope Chinese people can learn after Americans in education.
Question 5: Are you working on any new film projects at the moment and what can we expect from you in the future?
Answer: I am preparing a film in the perspective of women. I think modern women seem to have already more freedom than ever. But in fact, there are still a lot of restrictions in their mind. Women shall have the courage to lean in. For many things, it is not that they cannot do. Instead, they just think they cannot do. They give up without any try.
Interviewed by: David James Bell
Edited by: Li Yingdeng
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