Statement

REUNIFICATION was a 17-year personal journey to understand who I am and the hurt that kept me from moving forward since I migrated to America at age 9. The need to deeply understand drove me to ask my parents the difficult questions since it was their decision to emigrate and to break up the family permanently. I needed to understand them and the decisions they made. Self-exploration is daunting and I still feel it is a miracle that I took this on – revealing and sharing my pain and family history.

Since winning a Special Jury Prize at the San Diego Asian Film Festival, REUNIFICATION went on to screen at other festivals (Hong Kong Indie, DC Asian Pacific American, Macau), microcinemas (Northwest Film Forum, Maysles Cinema, Genesis Cinema UK), colleges (NYU, UCLA, Seattle U), and various libraries and art & cultural institutions (NYPLs, Chicago Cultural Center, Queens Museum, Gropius Bau Berlin). Without fail, during post-screening discussions, folks from all walks of life amazed me with their empathy and shared their similar yet unique heartfelt stories which fostered personal healing in everyone. It was also an honor to be able to share my experience at various workshops (NWFF) and talks (Sundance) on using family archival material for personal filmmaking.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.

-Alvin Tsang

P.S. I’m currently embarking on REUNIFICATION’s sequel entitled, WHEN HOME IS ELSEWHERE (WIP), reflecting on my father’s life as a war refugee, an orphan, a divorcee of several failed marriage, and a father. Looking forward to sharing this film with you once it’s done!