We will explore and learn to do:

Why learning filmmaking?

Learning to express your thoughts is a good beginning for communication.
Sometimes, when the talking is too loud, try to write it down into words.
As the Chinese proverb says: One picture is worth a thousand words, (畫意能達萬言).
When we put those pictures into film, it’s even more powerful to inspire people to see who they are and convey how you feel through the characters and plot.
You may also benefit from the process of writing scripts and making a film to observe yourself or your characters more closely and gain a different perspective to know something you are unaware of.
Therefore, we present this summer workshop to help teens explore another language of communication. Together, let's

Be inspired and make a difference!

James Y. Shih

James is a screenwriter, filmmaker, actor, teacher, producer.
He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area. In high school, he fell in love with acting and performing in school plays. He continued his passion in theater, screenwriting and producing many short films.
James is the writer/director of the short films "Distance" (2012) and "Moment" (2016) which have screened at national film festivals.
In 2015, James wrote the script based on his experience working in Taiwan. In 2017, he fundraised for producing/directing the short film "Ahma & Alan", a comedic drama inspired by his Taiwanese grandma. It was premiered in 2019 in several film festivals
James received M.F.A. in ScreenwritingCalifornia State University Northridge and
B.A. in Economics, Theatre from Univeristy of California,San Diego.

Check James’ films
Ahma & Alan: 1 minute trailer
Painting Hands
More about James

James tell stories through films

During the two-year period of pandemic, James Y. Shih felt that time seemed to freeze. He was especially troubled by emotions caused by the pandemic and racial hatred in the United States. Therefore, he meditated and was inspired to tell more stories of Asian Americans. The short film "Ahma & Alan", which he wrote and directed and premiered at the 2020 Seattle Asian American Film Festival, was selected for a public screening on the Omeleto Channel this May, and he hopes to use the film to tell stories to help Asian Americans understand their roots and develop empathy for people.
James was born and raised in California. His parents are from Taiwan. His grandmother came to the United States to take care of him when he was a child. After graduating from college, he moved back to Taiwan in order to spend more time with his grandmother and also taught English in daycare.
However, without having Taiwanese passport to be qualified to work, the policeman tried to deport him. James’ grandma went to the police station in Taipei to plead for him and said, "My grandson is Taiwanese! He doesn't need to teach illegally, I can take care of him."
James saw the petite grandma's fearless attitude against authority, which made him very proud and inspired him to write the script of "Ahma & Alan", hoping to support the elderly to speak up and set an example for the young people. Moreover, the concept of this film expresses "the love and affection of family can transcend the barriers of time and nationality".
In addition, James also tried to explore the issue about identity among many second-generation immigrants who often face a lacking a solid sense of belonging from both sides of their parents' home country and the country they grew up in.
James recalled that when he was four or five years old, he could speak a mix of Taiwanese, Chinese and English, and was proud of his Taiwanese background. But after going to kindergarten, he was ridiculed for not being fluent in English. In elementary school, he felt embarrassed to speak Chinese and Taiwanese in public, and he was ashamed about going to a Chinese school on Saturdays. He didn't want to be seen as a rookie immigrant who had not yet integrated into American society, so he rarely spoke his parents’ native language and gradually lost it.
Therefore, he hopes that immigrant parents can communicate more with the next generation, so that their children can better understand their parents' cultural background and life experience, which may help Asian American children stand firm in the face of multi-racial turbulence.
James believes that telling a good story can touch people's hearts, help people experience different cultures, and make people with a common background feel to be seen. He also believes that when people find their own meaning in life, they can live a valuable life.
Taiwan Online Library is proud of inviting James to teach teens from any cultural background to explore their dreams, expand their perspective and express their voice through the process of scriptwriting and filmmaking to leave a trail of life stories.
Click and watch the full video online for free now."Ahma & Alan"

The story behind the theme

Summer break is a time for resting from school academic work; but also an opportunity for trying something new and developing your potential at a slower pace.
We design this summer workshop for inspiring students' creative perspective through writing about ideas and making film to illustrate their thoughts.
Moreover, this summer workshop also serves the students with an opportunity to test drive their interests in the field of writing and filmmaking.
With the instructor’s mentorship, the students will play a central role to be active learners and problem solvers, not just information receivers. The deeper the students probe into what they want to know, the more possibilities they will explore.
Therefore, we hope this summer workshop also help our students develop the life-long skills of self-learning and creative problem solving.

About the director

The educational program director, Manling Chen, coordinates the team from Taiwan Online Library to creatively design this summer camp.

We hope to inspire young generation to become citizens of the world through being exposed to the Eastern culture and learning new things from different peoples.
(Click to visit Manling Chen's past teaching experience)

Taiwan Online Library is a non-profit organization founded in 2009.
Our mission is to promote cultural diversity and build up the communities.
For benefiting the American communities, our summer camp always welcomes all ethnicity of students.

Registration

Registration Full

Date: USA：July 29 & August 5,12,19 (Four Friday sessions in total)

Time: USA : 7PM~8:30PM (Central Time), 5PM(Pacific), 8PM (Eastern)

Who: Entering Grades 9~12 in Fall 2022

Cost: US$ 100 per participant
Location: Online, taught in English

Please fill in the following form and click “sign up”.
Then click “Buy now” on the pop-up screen to pay.
You will receive a confirmation email from PayPal after the payment is done.
Without the payment, the registration will not be completed.

Contact

Please feel free to contact us for questions by

Email：librarian@tolib.org