Norbert Shieh

An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

TWO MILES EAST is a film essay that revisits a tragic F/A-18 jet crash in San Diego to contemplate our civilian relationship with the military and re-examine the suburban dream.

San Diego has been called many things – including a paradise. It’s also a refugee city, a cluster of neighborhoods, a militarized zone, a border town. And Asian American. This collection of four short documentaries, commissioned on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the San Diego Asian Film Festival, maps many such San Diego’s – across ethnicity, geography and history. At the same time, they hold on to some notion of paradise, however illusory: a haven from war, the dreams of an immigrant, precious teenage reminiscences, solace in the afterlife, and spaces for creative expression.

Washes explores the relationship of Los Angeles and cars through the documentation of six different carwash locations. Filmed in a mixed media of 16mm film and HD video, each site is a recording from a fixed camera placed behind the windshield as water cascades. The lens focuses on the plane of glass and abstracts the background with a shallow depth of field. Passing cars, buses, and people are refracted by the water, creating colors, and textures on the surface of the glass. The mechanisms of the camera transform an everyday experience into flickering lights and shadows.

A-Zhi returns home to Taiwan for the first time in many years just as his younger brother, A-Yong, is leaving with friends for “huan dao,” or a round-the-island scooter trip. An accident with A- Yongʼs scooter causes them to spend time together in a dysfunctional reunion.

An anthology of one-minute films created by 51 international filmmakers on the theme of the death of cinema. Intended as an ode to 35mm, the film was screened one time only on a purpose-built 20x12 meter public cinema screen in the Port of Tallinn, Estonia, on 22 December 2011. A special projector was constructed for the event which allowed the actual filmstrip to be burnt at the same time as the film was shown.

TWO MILES EAST is a film essay that revisits a tragic F/A-18 jet crash in San Diego to contemplate our civilian relationship with the military and re-examine the suburban dream.

San Diego has been called many things – including a paradise. It’s also a refugee city, a cluster of neighborhoods, a militarized zone, a border town. And Asian American. This collection of four short documentaries, commissioned on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the San Diego Asian Film Festival, maps many such San Diego’s – across ethnicity, geography and history. At the same time, they hold on to some notion of paradise, however illusory: a haven from war, the dreams of an immigrant, precious teenage reminiscences, solace in the afterlife, and spaces for creative expression.

Washes explores the relationship of Los Angeles and cars through the documentation of six different carwash locations. Filmed in a mixed media of 16mm film and HD video, each site is a recording from a fixed camera placed behind the windshield as water cascades. The lens focuses on the plane of glass and abstracts the background with a shallow depth of field. Passing cars, buses, and people are refracted by the water, creating colors, and textures on the surface of the glass. The mechanisms of the camera transform an everyday experience into flickering lights and shadows.

A-Zhi returns home to Taiwan for the first time in many years just as his younger brother, A-Yong, is leaving with friends for “huan dao,” or a round-the-island scooter trip. An accident with A- Yongʼs scooter causes them to spend time together in a dysfunctional reunion.

A-Zhi returns home to Taiwan for the first time in many years just as his younger brother, A-Yong, is leaving with friends for “huan dao,” or a round-the-island scooter trip. An accident with A- Yongʼs scooter causes them to spend time together in a dysfunctional reunion.