We were lucky to catch up with Hsuan Yu Pan recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hsuan Yu, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

From dreaming of being a cartoonist as a kid to ending up with a business degree that didn’t quite feel like me, and finally finding my way back to the creative world as a filmmaker, it’s been a journey of persistence and trusting my gut. After graduating college in Taiwan, I was lucky to come to the U.S. to study something I truly loved. At the University of Baltimore, where I majored in Publications Design, I also got to take classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art. That’s where I took my first documentary course and fell in love with independent films, especially through the screenings at the Charles Theater in the neighborhood. That’s how I first got introduced to the world of indie filmmaking.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I’m a Taiwanese American filmmaker passionate about telling human stories through my lens. Based in New York City, I spent a decade as a producer at BRIC TV, a community TV station in Brooklyn. That experience sparked my focus on immigration and migration stories, leading me to direct over four documentary shorts. As an independent filmmaker, I create my own projects and collaborate with other artists and filmmakers.

In 2020, I directed a 40-minute film, ALONE/TOGETHER, which captured the shared experience of navigating isolation during COVID-19 with participants from 11 countries. In 2023, my short documentary “The Other Side of the Sea,” about NYC-based Ukrainian immigrants’ response to Russia’s 2022 invasion, was featured at Stockholm Design Week. Right now, I’m working on my documentary Hear, Eat, Home, which explores how immigrant musicians and artists use their creativity and memories to connect their homelands with their life journeys in the U.S., a place they now call home.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve often heard people say they can’t find stories or inspiration in their lives. For me, it’s the opposite. My life feels full of stories—not all happy ones—but if I choose to, I can find inspiration in almost anything and turn it into a film. I believe being curious and open-minded is essential, but so is connecting with like-minded people.

I want to share the journey of making “The Other Side of The Sea,” from NYC to Stockholm. In 2022, I almost skipped a rally in Times Square raising awareness about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—I’d filmed several rallies before and wasn’t sure if I should go. But something made me go that day, and that’s where I met Ludmila Christeseva, a Belarusian-Swedish visual artist. She was sharing her story about supporting Ukrainian refugee women through her art. We had a brief conversation, and a few months later, she invited me to screen my film at her show in Stockholm in the spring of 2023.

Since then, we’ve stayed in touch, and we’re now collaborating on a new documentary, “Weaving (working title).” It’s about sisterhood, her journey, and how she uses her art to support Ukrainian refugee women and creatively fight for freedom. I think we inspire each other, and together, we’re creating something much bigger than just ourselves.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

As artists, we’re often seen as creative thinkers who can tackle social issues in unique ways or spark conversations that lead to real change. But people sometimes forget that we’re also just regular humans with bills to pay and groceries to buy. Many of us start out funding our work from our own pockets, making slow progress until we’re lucky enough to find support.

For me, becoming a documentary filmmaker has been a 12-year journey so far. I’ve joined professional communities, both local and international, to navigate resources, but it’s still a highly competitive field. I hope society can better recognize the effort it takes to build a project—from research to completion—and offer more financial support for the work we do. After all, our films contribute to society by starting important conversations and inspiring people to think about solutions.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://panvideo.net
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/panvideo/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/panvideonyc/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/panvideo/
• Other: https://bsky.app/profile/panvideo.bsky.social

Image Credits

Photo of 2024 showcase crew: Ken Aragaki
Director Hsuan Yu Pan: Chris Gampat
“The Other Side of the Sea” Behind the Scenes: Mitsuhiro Honda
“Hear, Eat, Home” Behind the Scenes: Mitsuhiro Honda