Conversations with Pengyifan Erin Lou

Today we’d like to introduce you to Pengyifan Erin Lou.

Hi Pengyifan Erin, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I was born and raised in Shanghai, China. My parents, as people who moved to Shanghai to have their own business, usually didn’t have much time to be around me when I was young. They chose to let me live with my teacher where reading became a “proper entertainment” for me, so it made me not think of them often. Luckily, found a lot of fun in that. Later in middle school, I found another way to entertain myself which is watching movies. I must be honest, at first, I like movies because I finally found a way to be able to spend time with my parents for a few hours. Watching movies is a good way to “read” stories, you see and feel what shows on the big screen and sometimes think of being the character in the story. As a bored teenager, I spent a lot of time in the theatre. On weekends, I usually went to the theatre after breakfast and would leave before dinner. Sometimes I would watch three movies in a row in one day. It sounds kind of crazy now, but it was me back in the day.

Not surprisingly, I went to college to study how to make films instead of being a law student as my parents wanted. I studied in Shanghai and then in England. After 3 years, I was still not quite sure about this thing called filmmaking, I questioned myself, and then questioned my parents when I told them, “I want to go to America and see what’s filmmaking there, what do you think?” Fortunately, my parents said yes, and I got an opportunity to come to LA and get my master’s degree in producing. After living in LA for three years, I’ve produced short films in different genres where of them got selected and even won some awards at film festivals. I’ve also produced some commercials and found my interest in casting field too. I always feel like I have so much to learn from the people I meet and the stories I’ve heard. It’s a quite unique feeling about turning an idea into something on the big screen.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It is a long and fun journey for me to learn filmmaking, but it’s just never been easy, even before I started this journey. My parents enjoy watching movies just like I do so I guess I get it from at least one of them, but when it came to the major I wanted to pursue or even the career I wanted, it’s not the same story anymore. Just like other parents I know, my parents want me to have a great stable job like being a lawyer or a teacher, instead of a filmmaker. Although lots of my friends became amazing teachers or great lawyers now, I’m not one of them. They’re worried that I might regret my choice later or even have issues paying my bills. Although after I got my master’s degree, my parents still think this is a difficult job and make suggestions that I should be a wedding planner owning my own business. They decided to let me make my own decisions and try to find the job I like, and I’m always thankful about the support they give me to come to the other side of the world to see different views.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I’m a producer and a casting director, and I’ve been working on films and commercials. I usually focus on the unique stories and love to help bring an idea to the big screen. As a filmmaker from another country and different culture, I’d love to be the person to present different cultures and the stories about people to others. Films could be a great way for people to start becoming interested of new things. They can also be a good way to deliver a message through the story. For the past few years, I’ve been working on a lot of short films in different genres. Westerns, family drama, gangsters, posthumous marriage, love between human and AI, etc. They’re all so interesting to work on and to watch it get developed. As a producer, I’m very proud to see all the stories show on the big screen and that makes me proud of my job.

At the same time, I work as a casting director. Thanks to the experience working with casting directors and talent agencies, it makes me realize how different the casting system works here. During working with all the talented people, I find it’s so much fun to discover the “best” person to help bring characters to life. I also enjoy working with people who has so much love and who are passionate about their jobs. Casting brings me different joys and perspectives to work in this industry, and it also helps me when I work as a producer.

It’s never easy to work in films, but I’m happy to be in this field so I can keep learning and continue to be a caring and easy-to-work-with producer/filmmaker.

What matters most to you?
I will say love matters. Not only to love my family and friends but also to love myself and love the life I’m living in. For the past two years, I’ve learned how to love myself more, and have learned to be comfortable in my own skin. I started to realize only when we love ourselves, then we can love other people better and enjoy our lives more. Selflove matters.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/erinlouuu_/

Image Credits
Yu Zhang, Tiancong Zheng, Zach Goodwin