Siyi Chen

Hi, I’m Siyi Chen, a New York-based documentary director and editor, originally from China. Drawing on my background in history, literature, and journalism, I blend personal and collective memories, (...) desires, and fantasies to explore themes of displacement and belonging. My work often paints lyrical portraits of women in the diaspora, transforming everyday domestic moments into poetry, while offering a global lens on identity and migration. My debut feature, Dear Mother, I Meant to Write About Death, premiered at Busan International Film Festival in 2022, earning a special mention in the Wide Angle Documentary Competition. The film also screened at International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2022 and was nominated for the Best First Feature Award. As an editor, I've worked on different types of films, ranging from independent productions to PBS Frontline TV documentaries. My most recent editing work is Made in Ethiopia (2024), which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival.