Welcome to the World will screen at Kansas City FilmFest on Friday, April 13, 2018, at 12:20pm, in the session Short Narrative: World Around Us, at Cinemark Palace at the Plaza. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased here.

Co-director Albert M. Chan‘s previous film The Commitment also screened at Kansas City FilmFest in 2013.

Welcome to the World is a daring film about a troubled man who records a video message for his pregnant sister. Drawing its power and immediacy from its first-person, confessional style, the film presents, in one continuous shot, the journey of one man’s awakening from isolation back to humanity. The film stars Albert and is directed by Albert and Anthony Grasso.

Richard Propes (The Independent Critic) gives it four stars and writes, “RIVETING… CHAN’S PERFORMANCE IS DEEPLY MOVING… LINGERS IN YOUR BRAIN LONG AFTER THE CLOSING CREDITS”. Kirk Fernwood (One Film Fan) praises the film as “INTELLIGENT, INVENTIVE, AND INSPIRED… CHAN DOES A FANTASTIC JOB… DRAWING YOU IN WITH EVERY WORD… THE FINALE IS A STROKE OF CREATIVE BRILLIANCE AND ARTISTRY”. Max White (OC Movie Reviews) raves, “CHAN GIVES A GRIPPING, HEARTFELT AND SINCERE PERFORMANCE WHICH PLUNGES YOU INTO THE MURKY WATERS OF MODERN HUMANITY AND MASCULINITY… SQUEEZES SO MUCH RAW EMOTION INTO A SINGLE SHOT”. And Rachel Pullen (UK Film Review) writes, “LEADING MAN ALBERT M. CHAN… PLAYS AN EMOTIONALLY RAW MAN WITH A GRACE AND EASE THAT IS OFTEN ONLY SEEN WITHIN SOME OF THE MOST HIGH END ACTORS… PACKS A HUGE PUNCH… TO CREATE SUCH AN IMPACT ON A VIEWER IN ONLY SEVEN MINUTES WITH JUST ONE MAN, A SCRIPT AND A CAMERA CERTAINLY SPEAKS VOLUMES OF THE SKILLS THAT CHAN HAS AS A DIRECTOR, WRITER AND PERFORMER”.

Formerly known as the Kansas City Filmmakers Jubilee, the event has grown steadily since its humble beginnings in 1997, now spanning five days in one of Kansas City’s premiere theatres. Over the years, he FilmFest has received thousands of entries from all over the world, and more than $200,000 in cash and prizes have been awarded in the juried competition.