AURORA
Dayna Li
Drama
Musical
29 minutes
United States
Aurora trailer from Dayna Merrill Li on Vimeo.
Charlotte, 22, a recently-graduated composer who feels insecure about singing in public finds herself unexpectedly smitten by Aurora, 22, her star performer classmate. Charlotte is soon devastated by the discovery that her feelings are unrequited. This erodes her confidence and heightens her confusion about her sexuality, which she must overcome in order to find her own voice.
Student: Chapman University
Dayna is a recent graduate of Chapman University, where she received an MFA in film production, with an emphasis in directing. She has written and directed 9+ short narrative and documentary films. For documentary work, she has traveled to Kenya and across the United States. She hopes to speak to social issue themes in her narrative films, inspired by her undergraduate background studying comparative politics at Princeton University. Her short film “Qafas” about a family in Syria was recently nominated for a Student Short Jury Award at Austin Film Festival. Her short film “Aurora” was supported by the Women in Focus, Zonta Club of Newport Harbour Award of 2019 and her films have screened at many prestigious festivals including Austin Film Festival, Woodshole Film Festival, Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, Cyprus International Film Festival and Lakeview International Film Festival