Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelvin Le.
Kelvin, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Like most things, it started with a dream. When I was growing up, nothing intrigued me more than a movie. Good or bad, it was always my favorite thing to do. I never knew why I loved them, but I could never understand how someone could say, “I hate movies.” But rather than thinking about what there is to hate about movies, I spent a lot of time thinking about what there is to love. No matter what was going on in my life, or the hardships I faced. I could always turn to film, and that’s what I love about this art form the most. It transports you to a whole different world, puts you on a unique journey, and presents characters in whom you can relate too. And as I neared adulthood, I knew that, what was even better than experiencing this for yourself, was getting the opportunity to create this experience for others. But reality set in, and I eventually gave up on this dream. It wasn’t until my sophomore year in college that this dream started to resurface.
A big motivator in my life is the young people that surround me. I have a younger brother, many cousins I am close with, and the young members of my Buddhist youth group, an organization that has been a big part of my life. At this point, I was unhappy with my decision to give up on my dreams, and I wanted to urge these younger people in my life to never give up on theirs. I saw a lot of myself in these younger people as we shared the same burdens and hardships. But how could I tell them to chase their dreams, if I wasn’t even brave enough to chase mine? This thought ate through my mind, and during one of the most important finals of my college career, I walked out, went to see a movie, took notes on how they wrote their script, decided to write my own stories as a screenwriter, and I have not looked back since.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I’m not going to lie to you, it’s been hard. Being rejected is part of the job, and I knew that going into screenwriting. But it’s hard when you put so much time and energy into one thing just for someone to say it’s not good enough. It wasn’t until after I took a step back, and chose to accept the criticism, was I able to say to myself, “maybe it wasn’t good enough.” And that’s the name of the game. Do you have the resolve to keep going after the harshest criticism, and can you accept such criticism with an open mind? However, besides rejection, the hardest thing I had to face was being looked down upon because of my career choices. It was very discouraging to hear those things every week, but I knew that I had to keep going and endure this so that the young people in my life won’t have to.
Please tell us about your work.
I am a screenwriter from Texas who mainly focuses on animation but aspires to tell meaningful stories through great and relatable characters. As a young boy, the lessons that stuck with me the most were the ones I learned from animated films. Being yourself, standing up for what you believe in, and being kind to others were all lessons I took away from them. My appreciation for this art form only grew greater as I became older. As a somewhat mature adult, I was able to notice little nuances and details I hadn’t noticed before. I realized that what made these stories special was the writing. With my newfound perspective, I saw that they were deeper than I had previously believed, and creating such stories for children to learn from is what pushes me to keep going. I want to create stories that not only provide a source of entertainment but a source of motivation. Stories that will inspire the youth, at a time in their lives where inspiration is needed most. It took a while for my work to pay off or even show a bit of worth, but after two years of receiving many disappointing critiques, I stayed on it and tried learning the craft to the best of my ability. Which resulted in me receiving a top ten place on the “Coverfly’s Comedy Television (One-Hour)” category for the month of May 2020. I was also a finalist in the “FEEDBACK ANIMATION Screenplay Competition.” This shortlist of accolades isn’t much to celebrate about, but it has helped me from not giving up on this dream.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
I think the qualities that played the most important role in my success so far is the perseverance to keep going, the resilience to outside criticism, and the focus needed to finish a script because I think we all know how easy it is to get distracted.
Contact Info:
- Email: lehoangkelvin@outlook.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kelvinhoangle/
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