Based in Los Angeles, Syuen (pronounced Sh-wen) is Malaysian Producer and Writer/Director, who is drawn to the unique complexities in the universal experiences of everyday people. Inspired by the people and places around her, she enjoys highlighting the intimacy of connection while shining light on the barriers that keep us apart. Syuen loves exploring and mixing different mediums of filmmaking to vividly portray one’s inner world. Her most recent narrative short “When I Die” (starring Brylee Hsu from Barbie) has been recognized at festivals like NFFTY, LA Shorts, and Boston Asian American Film Festival. With experience creating documentative and promotional videos for local and international organizations like Architects of Diversity and Critical Engagement CIC, Syuen is also passionate about the power of filmmaking in fostering global understanding and interconnectedness.
Having grown up on the quieter side, she has always been curious about the unspoken, the unseen, and the unheard. As she continues her lifelong journey with storytelling, Syuen’s principles lie in amplifying underrepresented voices by bringing light to their stories, creating ripples of positive change, and having fun in the process of making art with her loved ones.
When she’s not directing, Syuen frequently works as a Camera Assistant to support cinematographers in bringing the director’s vision to life. She has worked at LAIKA as a Camera Intern on their latest feature film production “Wildwood,” learning the ins and outs of stop-motion animation.
HI SYUEN CHIA, WELCOME TO ABOUT INSIDER! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US WHAT YOU DO?
Hi, thank you. In my producing work, I coordinate and oversee all parts of production to ensure that the project is brought into fruition successfully and that it executes the director’s vision to life. This includes managing any logistics pertaining to the shoot, handling communications with collaborators, scheduling, budgeting, managing locations and personnel, and also brainstorming the creative direction. Oftentimes, this means I get to meet and work with a bunch of cool folks from all walks of life who are all bringing their incredible expertise and selves to a project. A lot of my foundational knowledge came from my time in film school, where I’ve been fortunate to work with mentors who took me under their wing and peers who trusted me with their collaboration. I graduated from Loyola Marymount University with a Double-Major degree in Film & Television Production and Screenwriting. Since then, it’s been such a fun journey working with and learning from industry professionals in my freelance work, both through direct mentorship and collaboration. The learning truly never stops.
WHO ARE YOUR CLIENTS?
At 4:08 Productions, where I work as a Producer, we work with various clients on different types of projects. Founded by Emmy-winning filmmaker Nic Davis, 4:08 is a Los Angeles and Montana-based production company. Our work ranges from promotional videos and live music performances for festivals like Zootown and Red Ants Pants, corporate videos for major investment firms, and an animated feature film with the Australian educational mentoring organization AIME.
In my freelance producing and directing work, I’ve had the honor and pleasure of working with Malaysian organizations like Architects of Diversity Malaysia, Tribeless | #SeeTheHumanFirst, and Closing The Gap for their promotional, informational, and documentative videos. I’ve also had the opportunity to work with international organizations like Critical Engagement CIC.
Besides my work with organizations, my recent collaborations include music video and narrative film projects with directors like Matthew Cheung, Tapio Tokunaga, and Mitchell Davis.
WHAT LANGUAGES DO YOU SPEAK?
I speak English as my primary language, but also am conversational and have limited working proficiency in Mandarin Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia.
WHO ARE YOUR FILMMAKER INFLUENCES GROWING UP THAT HELPED TO MOLD YOU INTO WHO YOU ARE TODAY?
In terms of filmmakers, I’m heavily inspired by the down-to-earth personal touches of Sean Wang’s work, and the reflective and fly-on-the-wall layered storytelling approach to Lulu Wang’s The Farewell. I also love different mediums of filmmaking and love how “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On” blends both stop-motion with live-action filmmaking. Other than that, I would say that I’m heavily inspired and influenced by the stories of the people and places around me.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR EARLY ON SET EXPERIENCES?
Some of my early on set experiences was actually a background actor on two commercials back home in Malaysia. While I’m definitely much better suited behind the camera, that was still a very fun and insightful experience. In the fall of 2019, my first on-set experience in film school was on Places We Won’t Walk, directed by Enyi Zhu and featuring cinematography by Griffin Voth, who was nominated for an ASC Student Heritage Award for his work on the film. Since then, I’ve had numerous on-set experiences as a Camera Assistant on various types of projects (including with clients like EcoFlow, Meta, HoYovers, TNF) before my transition into a Producer.
WHAT MAKES YOU UNIQUE?
I would say that my uniqueness comes from my ability to present stories with universal themes from a very specific and subjective perspective of the protagonist or subject, allowing for both resonance and an understanding for even the least of our neighbors. My identity as a Malaysian also informs everything I do in my personal projects; thus, I would also say that it is both a strong and unique suit of mine. One of my favorite comments I’ve gotten as a screening is a praise for my ability to weave in my cultural background through subtle ways in the visual storytelling and subtext.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE FILM MINIFIG?
Minifig is a narrative drama short film about a boy who, haunted by his life changing familial loss, ventures into escapist childhood memories while chasing his missing, cherished LEGO minifigure. It has been recognized internationally at esteemed film festivals including LA Shorts International Film Festival and Hokkaido International Film Festival. It employs both live-action and LEGO stop-motion filmmaking!
WHAT DID YOU WORK ON IN THE FILM?
I produced this narrative drama short film alongside my wonderful co-producers, Meera Macki and Charlotte Trudeau. My responsibilities included budgeting, finding and managing locations, leading and coordinating meetings, contributing to creative decisions, handling logistics, and collaborating with the director and other heads of department. I also oversaw the entire creative process from writing to distribution to ensure that the director’s artistic vision was being carried out.
THAT SOUNDS INTERESTING! CAN YOU SHARE ANY FUN FACTS FROM PRODUCTION?
The film was shot mostly on 50mm lenses from different manufacturers and series!
A fun pre-production story: Tapio, the Director, and I went on a spontaneous trip to Downtown Disney for the custom LEGO minifigures after realizing that the LEGO store at Century City did not offer customization; we got ice-cream to end the adventure. Lastly, (spoiler alert) the bed was rigged upright for the top-down shot of Pokka falling into the bed.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN THE MOVIE?
Tapio first came to me in April 2023 with the script for this deeply personal story and asked me if I was interested in producing it. I was extremely honored to have been offered the opportunity and immediately said yes. Tapio and I have worked together many times in different roles and capacities; he is one of my favorite collaborators ever and also one of my closest friends. He puts an incredible amount of care and hard work into every project he is a part of and it’s always a blast to work with him.
IS THE END PRODUCT AVAILABLE TO WATCH?
Minifig is currently in its festival run but stay tuned for its public release as well as any future screenings!
HOW CAN PEOPLE FOLLOW YOUR JOURNEY?
People can follow my journey on my website syuenchia.com, Instagram @syuennchiaa, IMDb, and LinkedIn
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