Today we’d like to introduce you to Charles Xiuzhi Dong.
Charles Xiuzhi, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Starting as a kid, I had a passion for telling stories. As a 12 years old, I started to play magic tricks and amazed everyone around me. My interests slowly transitioned into film – the power of images intrigued me. In 2019 I graduated from the Tisch School of the Arts NYU with a degree in film. Since then, I was fortunate enough to direct numerous short films and commercials and am working on my first feature film right now. Currently, I am part of the AFI conservatory, honing my craft of storytelling, always with the goal of telling stories in the most impactful way.
In 2018, I got the opportunity to direct my short film ‘After Class’, produced and shot by my fellow NYU peers. The short film is very well received by festivals worldwide and won numerous prices, for example ‘Best Short Film Asia International’ at the Oscar qualifying Short Shorts Film Festival. Currently, we are working on an Oscar campaign for this narrative, which I think is an important and impactful story for our time.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I believe that – to a certain degree – struggling is part of the process. Being a visual storyteller is a lifelong process in which you never finish learning. Roadblocks are an important part of it and played an important lesson for me to stay humble and push myself to new limits. Every project comes with its unique challenges, and I believe that with every project I work on, I am able to sharpen my senses in a different way. I left China at the age of 16. Not being able to communicate in English, and trying to build a second home in the US, was a great challenge – at that point nobody, including me, would have expected me to become a filmmaker.
With that in mind, it was a very rewarding experience for me to shoot my short film ‘After Class’ in my home country of China. It presented some unique challenges: this was the first time for me to work outside of the US. Solving logistical problems, for example finding a great cast, securing the most fitting locations, while still staying true to the story was a challenging yet important obstacle for me.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
No matter what you are trying to achieve, whether it is to communicate your brand image, sell a product or sell an idea, it all comes back to storytelling. Every project I am involved in gets my undivided attention. I want to make sure that I can deliver the best possible product and present you in the best possible way. I specialize in narrative and commercials and pride myself with the ability to come up with unique and unconventional concepts.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me, it is difficult to define success or to pin it down to certain criteria. Looking back, I grew enormously as a storyteller over the last couple of years and am very proud of my achievements. As long as I feel like I make progress, don’t settle and keep improving, I would define myself as successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://charlesxiuzhidong.com
- Phone: +1(631)697-5886
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/charlesxiuzhidong/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005044176517
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8611441/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
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