European Premiere
NaedeaN
C-FILMS IN FOCUS
Year of Production 2025
Production Countries/Regions
United States
Duration 78 mins
Genres Documentary Coming-of-Age LGBTQ+
Dialogue Language(s) English Mandarin
Subtitle Language(s) English
Director(s) An Chen
Director’s Bio
An Chen is a filmmaker, multimedia visual artist and musician based in Austin, TX. With a focus on personal documentaries, An's film work explores the nebulous boundaries between self-narrative and self-creation. Their debut feature film NaedeaN premiered at the 48th Asian American International Film Festival. They earned an MFA in Film Production from the University of Texas at Austin and have collaborated on numerous film projects as a producer, artistic director and production designer. An is also a long time visual artist and co-lead singer of the band Froggy Style.
Synopsis
An, a non-binary filmmaker who has documented themself for years in video diaries, attempts to re-write their personal narrative by reflecting on key moments in their journey towards the inner voice that beckons them to self realization. Collaging video diaries with intimate verité moments of self exploration, "NaedeaN" expresses the complexity of finding one's authentic self at the crossroads of multiple identities.
Festivals & Awards
2025 Asian American International Film Festival – World Premiere
Scriptwriter(s)
An Chen
Producer(s)
Nicole Chi Amen
Executive Producer(s)
An Chen
Key Casts
An Chen
Curators’ note
“Who is Nadine?” is a seemingly simple question yet unresolved. NaedeaN emerges from this ongoing inquiry, embodying the question itself while offering a tentative answer in the making. Turning the camera toward themself, An Chen uses documentary as a means of self-exploration, piecing together everyday footage recorded over nearly a decade. What unfolds is a deeply personal journey through gender identity, and through the overlapping roles of artist, queer individual, and second-generation Chinese American. Shot in a loose, unpolished manner, the film stays with the slow rhythms of self-discovery and reconciliation, holding on as well to the hesitation and uncertainty that inevitably surface along the way. (Written by Viv Wang’s, edited by Xiyun Li)
Director’s Statement
