Albert’s semi-biographical film Descendants of the Past, Ancestors of the Future will premiere in North Carolina at the North Carolina South & East Asian International Film Festival in Cary, NC, on Sunday, May 5, 2024. The event will take place at the historic Cary Theater, once home to the town’s first indoor movie theater.

The film tells the tale of Andrew (Albert), the son of Chinese immigrants, who is about to become a father to a baby girl. Before she is born, however, Andrew desperately needs to understand how his mother (Golden Globe, Emmy, and Drama Desk nominated actress Tina Chen) and her own father could have lived apart for most of their lives. Descendants of the Past, Ancestors of the Future won Best Screenplay and Best Actress at the 2015 NYC Downtown Short Film Festival.

Philip Smolen (Rogue Cinema):

“THE ACTING IS PITCH PERFECT AND CHAN AND CHEN TURN IN WONDERFUL PERFORMANCES… CHAN’S CAREFUL COMPOSITIONS CARRY A WONDERFUL EMOTIONAL IMPACT… A BEAUTIFUL CINEMATIC TONE POEM.”

Theo Alexander (Unsung Films):

“SUBTLE AND POETIC”

Richard Propes (The Independent Critic):

“EMOTIONALLY RESONANT… PACED BEAUTIFULLY AND TOLD WITH INTELLIGENCE AND WISDOM.”