Dear Mother, I meant to write about death; Siyi Chen’s film will premiere at the Asian American International Film Festival July 26th – Aug 6th.
About the Film
Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death is a personal film following director Siyi Chen’s journey leaving New York City to go back to her hometown in Southeast China to care for her physician mother who was diagnosed with breast cancer. After living in the US and away from her family for close to 10 years, Siyi found her mother, who’s always a strong woman in a vulnerable place and her childhood playground, a small-town Chinese hospital, now a place of horror as she had to face her mother’s mortality. However, this heartbreaking event presented Siyi and her mother an opportunity to rebuild their bond and rediscover the power of vulnerability. (Source: 46th Asian American International Film Festival)
The film world premiered at Busan International Film Festival 2022 and received a special mention at the documentary competition program. It’s also selected for IDFA 2022 and was nominated for the Best First Feature Award. The film is still on the festival circuit. The next screening will be at the Budapest International Documentary Film Festival in Jan. and Feb. 2024. (source: Siyi Chen)
About Siyi Chen
(Photo Credit: Siyi Chen)
Siyi Chen is a Chinese documentary filmmaker based in Zhejiang and New York. Chen received a B.A. in World History and Chinese Literature (dual degree) from Peking University and an M.A. in News and Documentary from New York University. She has produced, shot, and edited many short documentaries that appeared on Quartz, CNN, and PBS. Her feature debut Dear Mother, I Meant to Write about Death (originally named People’s Hospital) received grants from IDFA Bertha Fund, Chicken & Egg Pictures and the Asian Cinema Fund. Chen is also the winner of the SFFILM’s 2019 New American Fellowship and a former artist-in-residence at the Jacob Burns Film Center. Chen is dedicated to creating lyrical and poetic portraits of women, diving into the rich psychological world of her characters. (source: Siyi Chen)
One in a Billion Productions has given an impact grant for Dear Mother since its early days of development, and Mable Chan has offered advice and feedback as Contributing Producer.