Today we’d like to introduce you to Shan Jiang.
Shan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Born and raised in China, I arrived in California for the first time in my life in 2014 to attend college at the University of California, Irvine. From there, I have spent the entirety of my adulthood in the US studying cinema.
After obtaining a bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Studies at UC Irvine, I marched east to New York City. Determined to devote my time in film production. During this time, I wrote, directed, and produced three short films of my own: “Apricot Jam” (exclusively streaming on CineAsian Films), “There Was A Dove, But…” (Hollywood Golden Awards and Critics’ Choice Award at Calcutta International Cult Film Festival), and the latest experimental attempt “ApHasiA: Describe the City You Live In” (streaming exclusively on NoBudge starting on December 6, 2023).
I graduated from Columbia University with an MFA in Film Directing and Screenwriting in Feb. 2023 and stayed for one semester to teach Laboratory in Screenwriting. Throughout the past decade in the US, I have written and directed various short films and am in development for a handful of longer-format projects.
Facing a turning page again, I have decided to move back to Southern California in order to advance my filmmaking career. My in-development, feature-length project “Love, Elephant & Tourbillon” (Quarter-finalist at Los Angeles International Screenplay Awards Diversity Initiative) is set in Arcadia with a focus on a second-generation, Chinese-American piano prodigy’s coming of age as she awakens to sexuality and daughterhood while navigating a dysfunctional family.
It was through the years of living in New York City I started to realize how dearly I hold Los Angeles to my heart. I am thrilled to be back in LA and continue to tell stories that are present and relevant.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I was unfortunately never encouraged to take on a Super 8mm at the age of 12 and had since failed to follow the Spielberg route of success. In fact, filmmaking was not something that easily crossed one’s mind in an environment that discouraged individuality. It wasn’t until I came to the US for college, during the second year of my adulthood, that I discovered that cinema is my true calling.
But finding a true calling was not a once-and-for-all done deal. I struggled to find my voice at first. I was not sure what kind of films I should make – should I just imitate what the great, mostly white and male, film directors had done? Or should I try to cling to the rising immigrant narrative in America that I was not entirely a part of but masquerade and blend in a community whose collective face looks like me?
On the route of self-discovery and political awakening, I started to realize that the aforementioned reluctance is also a part of my voice, no matter how torn, broken, and conflicted it is. Because the voice belongs to me so completely, I can use it to tell any story that feels true to this voice.
It took me several years to arrive at that realization, but that is okay – I’ve always been late to the party. I am simply grateful to be in a stage where I am grounded in the creative realm, sensing connections to stories I truly want to tell and committing without being impacted by the kind of anxiety that used to keep me up at night.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am an independent writer-director based in New York City and Los Angeles. I hold an MFA in screenwriting and directing from Columbia University. As an Asian, queer, and female-identifying individual who has spent the past decade in filmmaking in the US, I am profoundly influenced by New Hollywood and its subversiveness. I believe that exploiting existing narrative tropes while incorporating new perspectives is one of the most impactful ways to engage with a wide range of audiences.
Born and raised in China and having spent the entirety of my adulthood in the US, I dedicate my work towards raising visibility of the minorities in the US. I often focus on women, especially East Asian females. I draw inspiration from life and history while dramatizing incidents that have been deliberately overlooked. Unfortunately, these incidents usually involve women or ethnic minorities, if not both. In order to raise awareness, I emphasize the social significance of these incidents with my narrative skills and aim to create reverberations in our time. I believe in the subversive power of breaking apart and recontextualizing the past for a better future.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Having created various narrative short films in New York, ranging from drama to experimental, and having written over a dozen screenplays, including shorts, pilots, and features, my primary goal in my current career stage is to evolve. During my five years at Columbia University, I moved from one project to another without hesitation as the thrill of bringing an idea to fruition filled my life. However, as I demand more from myself, I aspire to concentrate on one project at a time and maximize its full potential. In other words, I believe being fully present is the first step toward being successful on one’s own terms.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onastrich/
- Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm13667154/
Image Credits
BTS from ApHasiA (photo credit Joyce Xing) Film Stills from ApHasiA: Describe the City You Live In (cinematography by Yuxin Cha) Film Stills from There Was A Dove, But… (cinematography by Yuxin Cha) Film Stills from Apricot Jam (cinematography by Mengyuan He)
