Xiao Li Tan is a freelance director, writer and editor for special projects in the United States and China. She is a native of Guangdong, China. At 11, she immigrated to New York City and grew up on the Lower East Side. 

 

Xiao Li attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts focusing on film and television to train as a storyteller. Following her undergraduate studies, she was awarded a full scholarship to NYU's 2-year, Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP),  to complete her Master's degree.

After graduating ITP, Xiao Li made her first feature length documentary on contemporary artists in China as a prestigious Fulbright Scholar to Beijing. Since then, she has directed two episodes for a documentary series by CCTV called Oceans Away, worked on the Hollywood feature film, Push, as the director’s assistant, edited three episodes of Shanghai TV’s documentary series, Creative Future, directed a commercial short film for the Opposite House, a luxury hotel in Beijing.  

 

She directed a documentary for the One Race Global Film Foundation in the Dominican Republic, summer of 2013. In 2014, she directed a documentary on high school students from around the world volunteering on eco-projects in Fiji and Indonesia. Ms.Tan has just finished directing A Western, a short film shot in Tucson, Arizona. She is currently working on a web-series called Breaking In and directing a branded documentary series called My Stetson Story.

 

She has worked for clients such as Stetson, Bing, MTV Asia, Shanghai TV, CCTV, Canon, Prismacolor, Yeohlee, Meredith Lockhart Collections, and Chervon.  



In 2013, Ms. Tan co-founded COOL Sparks with artist Zhang O with the goal to provide sizzling online content of cool people doing inspiring works. www.COOL-Sparks.com



Filmography:

Breaking In (Web Series), 2015

A Western (Independent Short film), 2014

My Stetson Story (Branding Profile Documentaries), 2014

Mischievous Markers (Branding short film), 2013

Enraptured (Canon Film Competition Short Film), 2013

Filmmakers in Action (Documentary for The One Race Global Film Foundation), 2013

New York Fashion Week (MTV Asia series), 2013

The Nearness of You (Short Film), 2012

Lucille in Love: I Saw You (Short Film), 2012
Happy Birthday to Me (Web Series), 2011
Honorable Mention for short, YOMYOMY Online short film festival Lucille (Web Series)
Invited to submit web-series proposal, Creative Capital in New York

Erin McCarley (Music Video)，2010
The PawnShop kings (Music Video/Documentary)，2010