A South Texas town is thrown into the national spotlight when the local mosque erupts in flames. After decades of harmony, the small Muslim community of Victoria watches their cherished place of worship reduced to ash.
With the fire ruled an arson and a local man arrested as the suspect, this small South Texas town must confront its own troubled history and its consequences in the present.
From the trial of the suspect to the rebuilding of the mosque, A TOWN CALLED VICTORIA presents a nuanced portrait of a community confronting hate in its own midst, and grappling with deep-seated racial, religious, political, and economic rifts to find a collective way forward.
Li Lu is an award-winning filmmaker residing in Los Angeles, CA. She was born in Suzhou, China, and her family moved to the United States when she was five. Daughter of two physicists, Li discovered her passion in visual mediums - first through photography, then ultimately into filmmaking. Raised on all three coasts and graduating high school in Sugar Land, TX, Li received her BA from the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, graduating cum laude.
Her short films “Autumn” and “Before the Flood” have played festivals around the world such as New York’s Anthology Film Archives, Hong Kong Film Festival, Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, and others. Her music videos have been shown on Nickelodeon, MTV Asia, and many have surpassed 1 million views online.
“There Is a New World Somewhere” is her debut feature film, and recently won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the Boonies International Film Festival. It has also won the Special Jury Award for Best First Feature at the Las Vegas Film Festival and LA Asian Pacific Film Festival. Her teleplay "Razorhurst," about the seedy underbelly of street gangs in 1920s Sydney, Australia, won the Skyway Film Festival's Grand Jury Award for Best Teleplay and Pitch. Her work has been profiled in the New York Times, IndieWIRE, Bitch Magazine, and Flavorwire.
Besides film, Li creates video/installation art. Her latest video piece is currently on tour with musician Benoit Pioulard.
