Ahma & Alan release date: May 9th, 2022 - 阿嬤與阿倫公開日期五月九日

Ahma & Alan,” a short film I wrote and directed about a Taiwanese grandmother that travels across Taiwan to pull her Taiwanese American grandson out of jail, will be released publicly early tomorrow morning (PST), May 9th, 2022. It’s been a long time coming.

Will post again tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy this 1 minute trailer for the film.

我自編自導的短片“阿嬤與阿倫”,關於一位台灣阿嬤橫越台灣為了救她被逮捕的美國華裔孫子,明天晚上(台灣時間)會公開。長久以來的事。

明天會再分享,先請看這一分鐘的預告片。

Yin & Young Podcast and James is in Japan

Happy Lunar New Year and Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! Our latest podcast, Yin & Young episode 59, is up with Michael Newman (TV writer) and my co-host Dan. For the audio, please go here. It can also be viewed on Youtube:

As the title suggests, I’m currently living in Japan! Been taking a break from filmmaking, and am now here in Japan for a teaching program. However, I always have some creative outlet that I’m enjoying/working on; you can check out some photography I’ve been doing on my Instagram. I hope to be back soon making films and still plan to fulfill the backer rewards for all of those great people that helped support my Kickstarter for Ahma & Alan.

A recent video I made is a 5 minute film/documentary filmed in Taiwan last year, processing some of my thoughts about getting out of the US during the rise in anti-Asian hate crime and going to Taiwan. You can watch it below.

Thanks again to everyone for their support. Please stay safe and be kind to each other, and most importantly, also be kind to yourself.

Ahma & Alan (short film) Finishes it's Festival Run

If you've been keeping track of "Ahma & Alan" instagram here, you know that a lot has happened since the last October update. We've been honored to be a part of these festivals:

October 2020

November 2020

December 2020

  • Asian Web Awards our lead actress Mei-Hou Wu won the Best Actress Award for a short film. Here's the acceptance speech:

...And we were considered for these festivals:

August 2020

March 2021

As of April 2021, we're officially wrapped for our festival run! Thank you so much to everyone that has supported us thus far.

If you’re a backer of the film, you should’ve received a link to watch the whole film by now.

We're eventually planning to do a public online release in the near future, check our Instagram and/or Facebook to keep updated!


Much love and we hope you can see the film soon.

- James Y. Shih