Meet Leqi “Vanessa” Kong

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leqi “Vanessa” Kong.

Leqi, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
As the only child of two Communist Party members, I grew up in Harbin, the largest city in Northeast China with historical and cultural influence from countries like Russia, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan. My home is a humble two-bedroom in one of the old Jewish neighborhoods. There is even a Russian Orthodox church three blocks away, which I thought was a princess’s castle when I was little. My hometown city is a weird but charming hybrid of the east and the west, tradition and modernity, vulgarity and elegance.

I spent 19 years in Harbin, and these seemingly conflicting traits are deep in my blood, which results in my belief that no one in this world is an isolated being. My existence is a perfect example of the assimilation and exploration of humanity. But how to manifest that through my life? How to shout out to the world of prejudice and fear, that I, or people like me, exist and thrive?

I had my first answer when I was 14 years old. I found a DVD in a sketchy video shop near my school. The name of the movie was Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl. Of course, it was a pirated DVD… Sorry about that, Mr. Depp. But that was the only way for a girl like me to learn about a world of motion pictures. What a world that is! A world of fantasy and reality, of sense and sensibility, of order and chaos. I knew then, there’s no greater vehicle than filmmaking, to make myself visible to the rest of the world. Since then, I kept on devouring films, TV shows, and later on, standup comedies. However, to a very traditional Chinese family, being an artist equals to sitting in a street corner and painting portraits for petty cash — it’s not a job that’s gonna get me a good husband. So I left for Beijing to study English literature in college.

After four years of college, my dream of being a filmmaker only became stronger. But what could I do? I didn’t have any filmmaking experience. I was only a film aficionado (among billions of people). In my limited imagination, I decided that I need to make a million dollars first, then to finance my own film someday before I die. Easy peasy, right?

So I got a job that I know I was good at, as a film translator. From 2012 to 2016, I probably translated altogether 200 films and TV episodes, some of which are subtitles, others are dubbed films. At age 26, I had some savings, but not a lot. And I realized, I probably would never be able to save a million dollars to make a film, also that’s an investor’s job to get the money, not the filmmaker… I can just be a happy, poor filmmaker if I’m willing to piss off my parents. I need to do it. I can’t just talk about my dreams anymore. I can’t be introduced to people as “a film translator who wants to be a filmmaker.” I just need to do it. So I applied for the American Film Institute Conservatory to study screenwriting, and was admitted based on my passion and film translation background! That was my second answer to the life-long question, how to be seen? Well, turns out Nike knows all along; just do it.

After much persuasion, I convinced my mother that there was no use saving for my wedding. I promised her in exchange for her financial support for my film study, I’ll return her a grandchild someday. She thinks it’s a fair trade. And I’m just glad she didn’t ask me to sign a contract.

Now it’s my 3rd year anniversary as a screenwriter in Hollywood. I graduated from AFI a year ago and had my standup debut in TCL Chinese Theater, as the graduation speaker of my year, which later on went viral on Chinese social media and generated 20 million views. So far I’ve written four feature screenplays, one TV pilot, two TV specs. Two short films that I co-wrote with my classmates have gotten into semi-finalist of this year’s Student Oscar. And I’ve signed with the same agency as my life-long crush, Johnny Depp. I think the 14-year-old girl, who cried over Edward Scissorhands in her tiny bedroom in Harbin, would’ve been proud.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Transplanting to anther culture is never easy, perhaps more so for a grownup (or at least I thought I was). Besides the usual homesick for Chinese food and family members, my biggest struggle was to train myself to quickly adapt to a new lifestyle, without looking like an idiot. Writing screenplays in Hollywood for a living sounds so cool, almost too cool for a nervous wreck like me to handle. And managing the day-to-day proves to be the hardest of all: I remember the second day I arrived at L. A., I stared at the community washer and dryer for 10 minutes, trying to figure out how to use them, while remaining cool and collected in front of my neighbors. Mailing a letter turns out to be a struggle, too. I haven’t stepped in a post office in China for years. And who invented DMV? It’s a place that caused enough stress to start a tsunami in my artery.

Summer of 2017 was my first anniversary in America, also the end of my first school year at AFI. I had just got my driver’s license, only after four driving tests and probably ten visits to three different DMVs for various reasons. I had so many reasons to feel shitty about myself: I was 27 and still couldn’t support my own life. I tried so hard to blend in but still couldn’t shake off the feeling of loneliness and inadequacy. I had to spend twice as much effort in school just to keep up, and dating life was confusing – so confusing. Why would people say they’re not looking for something serious? It’s not like they can just turn on the radar and find true love immediately, should they decide to look for it. And on top of all that, there were two unprotected left turns on the 3-minute drive from my place to school. God knows how many times I stopped before the turn, beating myself up in the car for too scared to take the turn. “Why are you so awkward? Why are you so clumsy? You’ve got the license, now take the damn turn! At least make one thing work in your failing life!”

Those two left turns were constantly in my stress dreams, until I had a brief “end of the school year” meeting with my screenwriting discipline head, Anna Thomas. I told Anna how much stress I was experiencing, trying to do everything right, to not look like an idiot. Anna laughed and told me; “Go home and write this on your forehead. It’s okay to make mistakes, then look at the mirror and remind yourself every day.” That was such good advice, which became an amazing turning point in my life. I finally realized I am imperfect, and I have the rights to be imperfect, no matter how old I am. I’m failing, only because I’m trying something new and challenging. I started a secret journal, documenting each time I successfully took those two left turns. And probably after three months, those left turns stopped appearing in my dreams anymore.

Now I’ve moved to a new place and I don’t have stress about driving anymore. I know that new challenges will still come at me on a daily basis. But as long as I allow myself to try and fail, and keep on trying, I’ll survive.

We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
I’m a bilingual (Mandarin/English) screenwriter based in Hollywood. My job includes doing lots of research on related subjects, having development meetings with clients, staying in my room for days writing and rewriting while pulling my hair out, then take notes and repeat.

I’m interested in many genres and themes, among which female-centric comedies with Chinese elements is what I specialize in. But I’m always curious about new ideas and want to explore possibilities to expand my story-telling experience.

So far, I have written/co-written several scripts that I’m proud of. One feature script: Newton In China: a fantasy drama with a hint of magic realism that takes place in 1970s northeast China, about an underprivileged teenage village girl Newton, tutored by the hallucination of her namesake British scientist Sir Isaac Newton, decides to construct a giant balloon to defy gravity and leave her abusive father.

One half-hour TV comedy pilot: Talk Yellow to Me: about an uptight Chinese woman Vicky, who aspires to be a standup comedian in Hollywood. On the verge of her U.S. visa expiration, she decides to steal material from her roommate, Chinese girl Rita’s raunchy sexual adventures, which creates a wedge in their otherwise airtight friendship.

One short film, The Chef, that I co-wrote with my producer Yixian “Ithaca” Deng, has been accepted by many festivals and won 2019 AT&T Film Awards, futuristic category. The story is a sci-fi drama set in the near future about a Chinese cook trying to teach a humanoid to cook Chinese food.

Another project that I’m currently working on with my director Shu Zhu is a Chinese mystery/crime drama in the vein of Twin Peaks.

I believe what sets me apart from other screenwriters is my unique point of view, from the perspective of someone who has spent 26 years in mainland China and then thrown to the whirlwind life in Hollywood. I love comedy and mystery. I love stories about strong and interesting female figures. I have my fair share of understanding of both Chinese and American audience. And I hope to create more stories that bring people together.

What were you like growing up?
I grew up in a household full of laughs. My father loves to tell jokes and make people laugh. My mother is more of a serious person — she has to be, working as the head of nurses in a big hospital. But my mother’s parents and siblings are all fun-loving people who always find joy in life. My father told me when he first visited my mother’s home and met her happy-go-lucky family, he made up his mind to marry her. Later on, when I was born, my father gave me the name “Leqi”, which means “happy angel” in Chinese. So it became a prophecy for my life: to generate joy and spread them.

Raised as a tomboy and surrounded by funny and self-deprecating family members, I became a self-taught comedian at a young age. I was the kid who would play pranks on grownups during a family gathering, say outrageous things just to get a laugh. In my school years, I was always the class clown. After I came to Hollywood, one of the biggest revelations is I discovered standup comedy! I try to hit an open mic whenever possible, to keep myself sharp and relevant. Hopefully one day I can bring my folks over to watch me do standup comedy.

Contact Info:

• Email: leqikong89@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessaleqi/
• Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/profile.php

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