Documentary Short
UsA (2019)
In 2014, the Sunflower Movement took place in filmmaker Andrea Chung's hometown, Taipei, Taiwan: students and activists occupied the parliament in protest of the government signing a trade deal with China. As a high-schooler, Andrea experienced the Movement but did not make the effort to understand its meaning and consequences. Half a decade later, while living thousands of miles away from Taiwan and feeling homesick, she happened upon some archival footage of the protest through a documentary, which forced her to confront her complicated feelings for home, her ignorance about politics, and her failure to be fully present no matter where she was. Through this intimate essay film, she tries to answer the question, "What does it take to stay awake when the reality is tough and home is far away?"
Official Selections
Concordia Film Festival 2020
University Film & Video Association Conference 2020
filmzeit Kaufbeuren 2020
Porto Femme International Film Festival 2020
St. John’s International Women’s Film Festival 2020
Riga International Film Festival 2020
National Film Festival for Talented Youth 2020
Taiwanese American Film Festival 2020
Sharjah Film Platform 2020
FILUMS International Film Festival 2020
London International Documentary Festival 2021
Artist Statement
When I was 18 years old, I left my hometown Taipei, Taiwan to study abroad. It was while abroad that I found my passion in filmmaking: I have learned everything I know about filmmaking in English, instead of my mother tongue Mandarin Chinese, and until now, I have never made a film in or about Taiwan. More than five years after I first left the country, I am still living abroad, and I started wondering how I could make a film about home when I am so far away. This film is my attempt to do that, and at the same time, explore how our most personal, intimate stories intertwine with the relational and the political.