Arvin Chen (born 26 November 1978) is a
Taiwanese-American
Taiwanese Americans () are Americans who carry full or partial ancestry from Taiwan. This includes American-born citizens who descend from migrants from Taiwan.
As of the 2010 U.S. Census, 49% of Taiwanese Americans lived in the state of Califo ...
director and screenwriter. He is best known for his film ''
Au Revoir Taipei
''Au Revoir Taipei'' () is a 2010 Taiwanese romantic comedy film set in Taipei and is Arvin Chen's feature directorial debut. It won the NETPAC Award at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival and was considered a box office success in Taiwan ...
.''
Early life
Chen was born and raised in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. His parents were immigrants from
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
. He was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, grew up mostly in
Foster City
Foster City is a city located in San Mateo County, California. The 2020 census put the population at 33,805, an increase of more than 10% over the 2010 census figure of 30,567. Foster City is sometimes considered to be part of Silicon Valley ...
in the
Bay Area, and attended
U.C. Berkeley majoring in architecture. In 2006, he earned a
MFA in film production at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
. He is the cousin of freelance writer and rock musician
Kaiser Kuo
Kaiser Kuo (; born March 7, 1966) is a Chinese American freelance writer and musician.
Career
Kaiser previously worked as director for international communications for Chinese search engine Baidu. Before that he was a technology correspondent ...
.
Career
After graduating from college, he moved to Taiwan in 2001 where he obtained a job working for director
Edward Yang
Edward Yang (; November 6, 1947 – June 29, 2007) was a Taiwanese filmmaker. Yang, along with fellow auteurs Hou Hsiao-hsien and Tsai Ming-liang, was one of the leading film-makers of the Taiwanese New Wave and Taiwanese cinema. He won the B ...
, who he describes “is kind of a family friend.” It was this experience working in Taiwan cinema that reaffirmed his interest in film-making. Soon after, he enrolled in film school between 2003 and 2006 at the University of Southern California, where he made his first short film ''Mei''. It won the 2007 Silver Bear in Berlin's International Short Film Competition.
Feature films
''Au Revoir Taipei''
Chen went on to work on his first feature-length film, ''
Au Revoir Taipei
''Au Revoir Taipei'' () is a 2010 Taiwanese romantic comedy film set in Taipei and is Arvin Chen's feature directorial debut. It won the NETPAC Award at the 2010 Berlin International Film Festival and was considered a box office success in Taiwan ...
'', which he both directed and wrote. Although he wasn't fluent in Mandarin, his friends had helped him with some translation for the script. The script writing process was one of the challenges he experienced in this field. ''Au Revoir Taipei'' won the Best Asian Film Award from the Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema (NETPAC) at the 2010
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
. The film also won the Jury Prize for Best Film at the 2010
Deauville Asian Film Festival The Deauville Asian Film Festival (the Festival du film asiatique de Deauville) takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema. A film competition was added to the festival in 2000 and a video competition in 2002.
...
, and an Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature Film at the 2010 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. The film was also nominated for an
Independent Spirit Award
The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...
(Producers Award for producer In-Ah Lee) and also the Lino Brocka Award in the international competition of the 2010
Cinemanila International Film Festival The Cinemanila International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Manila, Philippines. It was founded by Filipino filmmaker Amable "Tikoy" Aguiluz in 1999. The focus of the festival is on the cinema of the Philippines as well as Southea ...
.
''Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow''
Chen's second film is the 2013 romantic comedy ''Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?'' (明天記得愛上我), starring
Richie Jen and
Mavis Fan
Mavis Fan (; born 27 February 1977) is a Taiwanese singer and actress.
Life and career
Fan began her singing career in the mid 90s as a pop idol, singing songs catered mostly towards children and young teenagers.
Fan was raised only by her mot ...
, and which he also both directed and wrote. The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Berlin International Film Festival, and was selected for the World Narrative Competition of the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival. At the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival, it was also nominated for Best Narrative Feature. The film was also nominated for a Best Supporting Actress award (Mavis Fan) at the 2014
Asian Film Awards
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
, an Audience Choice Award at the 2013
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
, an Outstanding Film (Limited Release) award at the 2015
GLAAD Media Awards, and a
FIPRESCI Prize
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for Fédération Internationale de la PRESse CInématographique) is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the world fo ...
from the 2013
Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong.
HKIFF screens around 230 films ...
.
''Mama Boy''
His latest film is the 2022 romantic comedy drama ''
Mama Boy
''Mama Boy'' () is a 2022 Taiwanese romance drama film directed and co-written by Arvin Chen, and starring Kai Ko, Vivian Hsu, Sara Yu and Fandy Fan. The film had its world premiere on April 25, 2022, at the 24th Far East Film Festival. The fil ...
'' (初戀慢半拍), which he also both directed and co-wrote, and starring
Kai Ko
Kai Ko Chen-tung (; born Ko Chia-kai on 18 June 1991) is a Taiwanese actor, singer and film director. Ko won Best New Actor at the 48th Golden Horse Awards and the 12th Chinese Film Media Awards for his starring role in the film '' You Are th ...
and
Vivian Hsu
Vivian Hsu ( Atayal: ; ; born March 19, 1975) is a Taiwanese singer and actress.
Hsu rose to prominence in Japan, where she made her first appearance in 1995 and has become a highly recognized celebrity with her countless appearances in media dur ...
. The film had its world premiere at the 24th
Far East Film Festival
Far East Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Udine, Italy. It is one of the most important events promoting Asian Cinema in Europe. It focuses mainly on the films from East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which ...
, and premiered as the opening film at the 24th
Taipei Film Festival
The Taipei Film Festival (TFF; ) is a film festival promoted by the city of Taipei, Taiwan, through the Department of Cultural Affairs of the Taipei City Government. It was first held in 1998, from September 28 to October 5.
Currently chaired by ...
.
Short films
Chen's first short film, ''Mei'', made when he was studying at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
, won the Silver Berlin Bear award for "Best Short Film" at the 2007
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
. It was also nominated for a Golden Berlin Bear award.
In addition, Chen directed and wrote a short film in the Taiwanese omnibus film, ''10+10'', entitled "Lane 256" - about the experiences of a couple moving into a new apartment.
Chen also directed and wrote a short film in the omnibus film ''Eat'' (2008) - a compilation of short films from 3 directors that explores the subjects of food and love - where Daniel Jai Lee and Jon Maxwell were the other two directors who contributed segments to the film.
Music videos
Chen has directed several music videos for singer-songwriter
Dawen
Dawen Wang (), known as Dawen, is an American singer and songwriter. He first gained prominence when he won Kollaboration Acoustic 4. Dawen's first single "Wake Up", deals with Asian American stereotypes and prejudice towards minorities, and is ...
(王大文 ), including "Beautiful" and "Acid Rain."
References
External links
*
Twitch Interview with Arvin Chen
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Arvin
1978 births
Living people
American film directors
American people of Taiwanese descent
American people of Chinese descent
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni