Today we’d like to introduce you to Yi-Chiang Lin.
Hi Yi-Chiang, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My name is Yi-Chiang Lin, a Taiwanese film director based in New York City. My career began in 2016. I went to film school in college at first. Then I worked mostly assistant jobs but in various departments for years and years such as departments of the camera, editing, lighting, and directing after I left the school. These experiences gave me solid knowledge on set. In the meantime, I spent my spare time filming my projects.
Through these years, I directed short films, documentary films, and sometimes experimental films. Now I’m working on my debut independent feature film, “Afterword”. The film is in post-production now and plans to release next year summer. The film was shot in New York and Taipei. I feel grateful to make this project happen. I see this film as an accumulation of my art of filmmaking and my perspective of the world.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I always feel that the most difficult part is to be yourself. In the filmmaking industry, the styles, topics, and technology change so fast. These may drag you out of your path. Having a faith in your art is the crucial point. On the other hand, my works mostly were shot in various low-budget ways. The situations of lacking crew, equipment, and money were the struggles I had to deal with.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I specialize in film directing. I also do camera work, film editing, and screenwriting. These skills developed to serve my directing works in the first place because I didn’t have too many resources to make films. Now they become parts of my vision in the creative process, giving different angles to think about when ideas come.
My recent work, “An Unfinished Film”. It’s a documentary I made during the COVID period and was awarded the best documentary short at the 45th Asian American International Film Festival 2022. The story behind the documentary was my first feature film shoot was put on hold because of the pandemic. No one had any idea when the shooting would resume. Most of the crew members and actors left the team. But I was inspired by the situation by using this incident to make a documentary about my life states and questions about filmmaking and art.
I’m proud that I didn’t give up in the first place and tried to make a different project to reverse the situation. In the end, this documentary helped me attend various film festivals and find new crew&actors. I rebooted the project in November last year. The principal photography was finished in October 2022.
Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Nothing too special! To me, listening to music is the best way to deal with the pressure at work so I’m always playing songs on my Spotify. I love to create different playlists for each different task. It’s also a fun way to discover some good music.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.yi-chianglin.com/
- Instagram: yiyichiang.lin
Image Credits
All image credits by Yi-Chiang Lin
