Daniel Chew and Micaela Durand have had a long-standing collaboration that started more than 10 years ago when they were studying film together at NYU. Looking to broaden their knowledge beyond their education, they immersed themselves in the art scene of New York, inspiring them to make work in a variety of mediums including photography, installation, and performance. This experience in the art world is evident in their filmmaking as seen in their unconventional approach to narrative. Their wide range of influences come from fields such as literature (Tamara Faith Berger, Samuel Delaney), art (Paul Pfeiffer, Lutz Bacher, Dahn Vo), academia (Jasbir K. Puar, Mel Chen, Fred Moten), and filmmaking (Lucrecia Martel, Tsai Ming Liang, Catherine Breillat). Latent in their films are issues of intimacy and connection, two feelings that are increasingly difficult to discern and cultivate in our technologically mediated present. For them, collaboration is our way of dealing with this alienated condition. It is also a political decision that not only acknowledges filmmaking as a collaborative effort, but also strives to move beyond the idea of an artistic genius with its attendant ideas around gender, race, and sexuality. Their work has been shown extensively in the U.S. and abroad including at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, MoMA PS1, White Columns, 47 Canal, and MoCA LA.
While at MacDowell they edited their short film 38. The film exhibited in the fall at Human Resources, LA, alongside their previous two films First and Negative Two. First was awarded Best Narrative Short at the San Diego Asian Film Festival. Daniel was also the recipient of a Queer|Art|Mentorship in 2019.
