Biography

Andrea Yu-Chieh Chung had been training to become a classical musician when she left home at the age of 18 to attend New York University Abu Dhabi. Although she intended to study Social Research and Public Policy, she soon found herself inexplicably drawn to Film and New Media. Fortunately, she has found a happy balance between these disciplines in documentary filmmaking. Long before discovering her passion in documentary filmmaking, Andrea was born in Taipei, Taiwan, to a family full of wanderers. Her mother is a flight attendant, while her father's family belongs to a subgroup of Han Chinese called Hakka, who got their name, literally translates as "guest people," because of their large diaspora population. Influenced by her family, Andrea is curious about the world and passionate about telling stories of people who are in between places or stages of life, as well as those who strive to understand and overcome differences. Andrea’s documentary and multimedia work have allowed her to continue exploring the globe: She made Como Núnca Fuimos (Like We Never Left) in Cuba, exploring ideas of home and what change in this intimate space can mean. Her time spent living in the United Arab Emirates culminated in Finding Nasseebi, an autobiographical film in which she documents her journey to learn about Islam and to love someone deeply, despite differences in religious beliefs. As a videographer, she worked for various media outlets, documenting the Brussels Film Festival in Belgium and the largest travel blogger convention that took place in Stockholm, Sweden in 2016. Andrea’s films have screened at festivals around the world, while her written and other audiovisual works have appeared in publications such as Litro Magazine, Cineuropa.com, Airport Road, The Gazelle, and Peninsula Press. She holds an MFA in Documentary Film and Video from Stanford University. -Andrea Yu-Chieh Chung's official web