Meet Wei Yang Chen | Film Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Wei Yang Chen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Wei Yang, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
Before becoming an LA-based filmmaker in the United States, I am originally from Taipei, Taiwan. My background is in philosophy and calligraphy, and it subconsciously changes the way I see the world and the taste I have in making a movie.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Soochow University in Taiwan and receiving formal training in calligraphy from Beijing Normal University in China, I discovered the similarities between the two professions: both are related to language, one concerned with how to ask questions in a wiser way, the other with balancing the practical and the aesthetic. Since then, I have discovered an interest in exploring the concept of language, but not in the traditional sense, and this discovery has led me to the next stage of my life in the direction of film.

Out of passion and curiosity, I started making my own work before I graduated from the New York Film Academy. The first festival that my first short film “Carrotism” was nominated for when it was finished in 2019 was the Seoul International Food Film Festival (SIFFF), which is the largest food-themed film festival in South Korea. So far, my films have always been about food; it has become an important icon for me in my creative journey of filmmaking, just like the feeling of receiving a love letter from a girl for the first time and the last time you see your pet before it dies, you will never forget it.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My artistic explorations have always revolved around food, incorporating Taiwanese culture and cuisine into my films to touch the hearts of movie lovers around the world. For example, my recent film “Chopsticks” was selected for the 2023 Cinequest Film Festival, the largest Academy-qualified film festival in Silicon Valley, and the audience’s response has given me a lot of confidence to continue producing better and more interesting works.

For a long time, I’ve been trying to incorporate my own unique memories and emotions of Taiwan into my films, as well as to hide my personal philosophy and present a vivid and real language world that uses food as the basis of its vocabulary. It is not easy, but I am most proud that my work is not only a visual show, but also an immersive feast for the palate, where audiences from all over the world can experience Taiwan’s food and culture through my films.

The process of integrating storytelling with visual aesthetics and awakening people’s taste memories through visuals is both a unique experience and a subjective challenge, and I think the essence of creating true cinema is related to this. I see food as a way to explore deeper, philosophical themes, and I’m excited to showcase not only Taiwan’s rich culinary heritage, but also the metaphors behind it, such as: AI, identity crisis, family emotions, shared social and historical memories, etc. There are also many metaphors behind it, such as identity, family emotions, social and historical memories, etc.

As a Taiwanese film director, the difficulty of focusing on cultural themes lies in your audience. They come from all over the world, with different cultural backgrounds and different aesthetics, but the only thing they have in common is that they can’t go a week without watching a movie or a week without eating. My challenge is how to express my understanding of the concept of love through images: we eat different foods every day, but we don’t fall in love with them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would invite them to my house, give them recipes for Taiwanese food, and “coach” them to make Taiwanese food for themselves, because eating out in LA is expensive – it’s the first lesson they need to learn when they come to the city. Even though I don’t know how to cook any Taiwanese food (I only cook for my girlfriend in fact), I’m sure my best friends wouldn’t mind trying their hand in the kitchen, and would probably appreciate the recipes as a gift – in the melting pot of entertainment and culture called Los Angeles, it should be exciting to eat homemade Taiwanese food with friends. This is my plan.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to express my special gratitude to Mr. Hong Bin Zhang, CEO of Cinefinch Inc. Without his inspiration and support in filmmaking and art, my journey of a film director in the cinema world would have been much more difficult. As an outstanding firm focused on early-stage entertainment project incubation and innovative integration of AI applications, Cinefinch Inc. actively contributes to and responds to future trends by observing real social needs. Such ideals and achievements have greatly inspired me and directly or indirectly guided my future personal creative direction; I am more interested in the deepening interaction between technology and entertainment, and strive to make outstanding, sustainable contributions that are universally meaningful to both global and local communities. Cinefinch Inc. has provided me with a balanced point where thought and action complement each other. In addition, Mr. Hong Bin Zhang himself, as an entrepreneur, professional screenwriter and outstanding filmmaker, has played a crucial role in various stages of my past works. All of them have won awards at prestigious international film festivals in Asia, Europe, and the United States.

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