Filmmaker and Creative Director, Aria Sijia Li, graduated from SIS in 2018 and was our esteemed guest speaker for graduation 2024.

During a course at Harvard Summer School Aria was introduced to screenwriting and fell in love with it. She brought that passion back to SIS and started her student-initiated film projects such as SIS Snaps that interviewed graduating seniors on their plans and showcased other stories within the school community. These early film experiences deepened Aria‘s enthusiasm and lead her to study at one of the world’s premier film schools, the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts where she graduated in 2023.

Throughout her studies, Aria took on many roles to explore writing, directing and managing the intellectual property of creative designs. She was selected to intern with the current president of the Academy, Janet Yang, and held positions at Phoenix Pictures and Outcry Films, where she was the writing and story assistant, working with the founder and Sundance award winner Jordan Melamed. These roles have provided invaluable insight into the film industry and shaped Aria‘s unique creative approach.

At graduation, Aria offered heartfelt advice to the class of 2024: