Shiao-ya (Maggie) Huang is a film director born in Taiwan, raised in Latin America, and currently based in Singapore and Taiwan. Her passion lies in storytelling through filmmaking, screenwriting, stop-motion, and creative technologies.
She is a directing fellow from the Asian Film Academy by the Busan International Film Festival. Her works have been featured in various national and international film festivals. Her family documentary "Farewell Chang Chun" (2022), which explores local Taiwanese imagery and themes such as urbanization, family, and memories, won the Taiwan Pitch Grant 2022, supported by the Ministry of Culture Taiwan, CNEX, and Prof. Jean May Tsiang Foundation. The film was later selected as a finalist for the inaugural Sony Future Filmmakers Awards 2023 and screened at Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City. It is now distributed online by TaiwanPlus.
Subsequently, she created an experimental new media piece, "Memories of Ming" (2023), an extension of the documentary, which was exhibited in Linz, Austria, as part of Ars Electronica’s Festival Campus Exhibition 2023.
In addition to documentaries and narratives, she has devoted a significant portion of her creative journey to animation. Her stop-motion short on mental health, "Drive with Me" (2021), was selected and screened at the inaugural Singapore Mental Health Film Festival 2021 and the National Youth Film Awards 2021. Many of her other films have also been selected for numerous festivals.
She is particularly interested in stories revolving around spaces and memories and the movement of humans, especially the Asian diaspora. She believes everyone carries a story worth telling, and she invites you to share yours and form meaningful dialogue.