Erin Li is a 2nd generation Taiwanese American filmmaker. TaiwaneseAmerican.org has been pleased to support her work in the past, which includes L.A. COFFIN SCHOOL, a film about a recently transplanted grandmother who enrolls in a school that claims to teach people how to start life anew. We also highlighted one of her fascinating short films, CATCHING THE INVISIBLE LIGHT.
Her most recent film, TO THE BONE, tells the story of a preteen migrant farmworker who attempts to defy the status quo with unintended consequences for herself and her family. It was one of six films greenlit and commissioned by Film Independent to explore themes of California and democracy. TO THE BONE was selected to be screened at the Slamdance Film Festival, which takes place each year in Park City, Utah during the same time as the famed Sundance Film Festival. In the filmmaking world, Slamdance supporters consider their film line-up a “truer representation of independent filmmaking”.
TO THE BONE is directed by Erin Li. She co-wrote the screenplay with Silka Luisa. The film stars Naomie Feliu, Jaime Alvarez, Carlos C. Torres, and Maria Elena Laas. Ella Franklin served as Producer with Christina Carrea as Director of Photography. Susumu Kimura was Editor.
TO THE BONE – Official Trailer (HD) from Erin Li on Vimeo.
TO THE BONE will be screening the following dates and times:
Friday, January 18th @ 10:15 am – Treasure Mountain Inn, Park City, UT
Wednesday, January 23rd* @ 7:00pm – Treasure Mountain Inn, Park City, UT
*TaiwaneseAmerican.org is pleased to offer a pair of tickets to the Wednesday, January 23rd screening in Park City Utah. If you plan to be in the area for Slamdance or Sundance, and you are interested in these tickets, courtesy of Erin Li, please email: admin@taiwaneseamerican.org with the subject line “To the Bone”. We’ll randomly select a winner by Jan 19th, 2013.
Synopsis: Weary of her oppressive life traveling and working on farms around the country with her brother and father, a young girl rebels against her father’s wishes and the status quo, only to encounter unintended consequences for all three of them.
Both a coming-of-age story and a window into the world of child migrant farmworkers in the U.S., TO THE BONE is an intimate film about one family that represents the struggles of so many.
There are hundreds of thousands of child farm hands in the U.S., many of whom face dangerous working conditions, sexual abuse, and wage exploitation, sometimes earning only two or three dollars per hour. The child labor laws for agriculture are remarkably lax, allowing children to work at age 12, with no hourly limits outside of school hours. Only 55% of these children will graduate from high school.
Inspired by true events and directed by Erin Li, TO THE BONE was one of six films selected and greenlit by Film Independent for their Project:Involve Fellowship. Li herself is a Film Independent Directing Fellow whose previous film, L.A. COFFIN SCHOOL, screened at festivals across the country and is currently being developed into a feature.
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