Doors 7:30p
Program 8:00p
- This event has passed.
Aug 18, 2024 at 7:30 pm
Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death 我们在黑夜的海上
Screening to be followed by a discussion with Siyi Chen & Ruoyun Chen
UnionDocs
352 Onderdonk Ave
Ridgewood, NY
The last two screenings of the Nooks & Crannies series centered on young adults in their 20s as they endeavored to reconcile with their past and think about notions of home. This time, the spotlight shifts to middle-aged and elderly individuals. These characters either have children who live far away or find themselves far from their own homes. The narrative delves into their lives, showcasing their vitality and resilience as they navigate the complexities of everyday existence, including the challenges of separations and farewells. These intimate portrayals capture the universal themes of connection, loss, and the enduring strength of the human spirit, making the series a powerful exploration of life’s varied chapters.
In this focus, we are beyond happy to welcome featured filmmaker of Siyi Chen to the event to be in a conversation hosted by filmmaker Ruoyun Chen.
Program
Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death 我们在黑夜的海上 by Siyi Chen
63 mins, 2022
It’s never easy to talk about mortality with our loved ones. It’s even harder between a physician mother who excels at hiding her emotions under rationality and a daughter who spent her childhood solving math problems next to the morgue. They avoid conversation about mortality and related feelings at all costs – until the mother becomes a cancer patient and the daughter becomes her caregiver.
Queens Ballroom by Siyi Chen & Hansen Lin
10 mins, 2024
In a ballroom in Flushing, Asian American immigrants are transported through dance, revisiting the worlds they left behind and the lives they have created anew.
Program Duration: 73 mins
Watch the conversation between Presenter1, Presenter2 and Presenter 3 on the UnionDocs’ Membership hub.
Bios
Siyi Chen (she/her) is a documentary director and editor based in New York City. She holds a BA in World History and Chinese Literature (dual degree) from Peking University (Beijing) and an MA in News and Documentary from New York University. Siyi worked as a video journalist for two years before venturing into long-form documentaries.
Siyi’s feature documentary debut Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death received support from the IDFA Bertha Fund, Chicken & Egg Accelerator Lab, SFFILM, and the Asian Cinema Fund. The film premiered at Busan International Film Festival in Oct. 2022 and received a special mention from the Wide Angle Documentary Competition. It was also selected for IDFA 2022 and nominated for the Best First Feature Award. Siyi is also the winner of the SFFILM’s 2019 New American Fellowship and a former artist-in-residence at the Jacob Burns Film Center. In 2023, Siyi was selected as a part of the first cohort of PBS’s Ignite Mentorship for Diverse Voices Initiatives. As an editor, Siyi co-edited Made in Ethiopia (2024) which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2024 and is currently on the festival circuit.
Inspired by her cross-cultural background, Siyi’s work explores migration, identity, and family dynamics, with a special focus on creating lyrical and poetic portraits of women in the diaspora. Besides making documentaries, Siyi also writes poems in both Mandarin and English.
From the Event
