It’s obvious that Viola Xiaolin Mai is intrigued by the diverse components that make up romantic relationships and the motivation of those involved. The films in her resume range from comedic deception to murderous betrayal. Whether using her talent as a producer, a writer, or a director, Viola shines a light on the complexities of love and the human condition in ways that are captivating. To truly stand out, an artist must be bold. There’s ample evidence of this in Viola’s work, perhaps most notably in her willingness to “flip the script” on classics by literary icons such as Edgar Allen Poe. For this filmmaker, the medium is about expression rather than reinforcing long established ideas. Viola Mai is passionate about the artform and its ability to communicate ideas to the masses as well as to the individual. The titles of her skills range from producer to director, to production coordinator, and more, but she’s unquestionably a storyteller driven by vision and purpose. Her films speak loudly and profoundly, leaving no uncertainty about her view of the characters and the world they live in. Immersing oneself in films such as these is an intoxicating experience.
Western society has come far from the days when Edgar Allen Poe penned Ligeia. This tale about a husband whose betrayal of his wife and their union masks murder with the guise of caretaking is an idyllic representation of a patriarchal world. In her film, also titled Ligeia, Ms. Mai has chosen to give voice to the terminally ill woman who falls prey to her husband’s duplicitous acts. While Poe’s original tale and Ms. Mai’s film share the intersect of characters and events, they are disparate in the way that they communicate with the audience. In fact, this film takes to breaking the fourth wall and allows Ligeia to speak openly to the audience about her plight. As the director of Ligeia, Viola has crafted a bold visual style that blends elevated horror with emotional intimacy, using symbolism, atmosphere, and perspective to explore obsession, identity, and power. Her approach emphasizes tension through emotional buildup and visual metaphor rather than jump scares, resulting in a deeply personal character driven sense of fear. As the film’s producer, she ensured every practical aspect of the process aligned with its creative intention. It’s rare that the masterful oversight of logistics, casting, crew assembly, scheduling, and other responsibilities of a skilled producer are also possessed by the same person who is a director of abundant imagination. While the thunderous applause received by Ligeia at events like the Sunscreen Film Festival and San Antonio Horror Film Festival (where it was an official selection) fed her directorial efforts, Viola was the recipient of a Best Producer award for Ligeia at this year’s Indie X Film Fest.
More evidence of Ms. Mai’s affinity for psychologically centric films can be found in Popcorn, which she also produced, and which garnered a plethora of awards at such prestigious events as the Cannes World Film Festival, New York International Film Awards, and others. Starring David Prottas (known for his work on the Primetime Emmy Award Winning PBS series Live from Lincoln Center) as Barry, Popcorn explores the physical and emotional devolution of one man as his marriage disintegrates. Filtering the essence of her role as producer on the film, Viola describes it as, “Protecting the heart of the story while keeping everything on track.” The metaphorical nature of Popcorn is profound in that the main character’s environment visually depicts the internal rot overtaking him. This film is “felt” even more loudly than it is “told.”
There are many skills that combine to create films such as these. One can point to Viola Mai’s reputation for an empathetic connection to actors, obviously rooted in her own training at the Stella Adler Studio in NYC, or her own creative vision but she frequently refers to the team effort in the craft of filmmaking. One of her frequent collaborators has been composer Nga Weng Chio who is widely known for his work on such productions as the Primetime Emmy Award Nominated Netflix series The Last Airbender, the recent Naked Gun film reboot starring Oscar Award Nominee Liam Neeson and the iconic Pamela Anderson, and Sci-Fi film Borderlands starring Oscar Award Winners Jamie Lee Curtis and Cate Blanchett. Viola declares, “Sharing the creative journey with those you trust cannot be overstated. What I love most about our collaboration is how it always feels like a dialogue, not a delivery. Nga Weng Chio doesn’t just score my films — she scores between the lines, finding the emotional truths that even I didn’t articulate in the script. For both LIGEIA and POPCORN, Weng’s music didn’t just set the mood — it became the soul of the story.”
Speaking with Viola Mai, one gains a sense of how she perceives filmmaking as something far more than entertainment. When executed at its highest level, film inspires, motivates, and can prompt a rewiring of our perception of others. Speaking about Ligeia, Viola remarks, “I wanted to explore who Ligeia might have been beyond the male narrator’s obsession — what happens when the object of desire becomes the subject of her own story. Through writing, I infused her with agency, emotion, and fury; through directing, I translated that into a visual journey of transformation. Every creative decision — from the fabrics she wears to the color shifts in lighting — reflected her awakening from silence to self-possession. The process of planning and shooting her story, especially the scenes of her rage and liberation, felt profoundly personal and rewarding. It wasn’t just an adaptation — it was a reclamation. To take a character once confined to memory and turn her into a living, defiant presence on screen reminded me why I tell stories: to uncover the unheard voices that live beneath the words.”
Writer : Basil Thomson
Ayushi Saini