Co-directed by Albert, Welcome to the World will have its northwest premiere at the 13th Annual DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon on Saturday, April 21, 2018, at 2:40pm, at the University of Oregon Redwood Auditorium. The film screens in the session Shorts Session #1: The Asian Man.

Albert’s previous films Descendants of the Past, Ancestors of the Future and The Commitment also screened at DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon in 2015 and 2013.

DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon is a social justice film festival that takes place in Eugene, Oregon. It is dedicated to deconstructing the media stereotypes of Asians and Asian Americans as “Orientals”, and promoting the power of film-as-art to educate, heal and improve the lives of people by giving voice to our experiences. Started in 2006 by artists, educators, and activists, DisOrient is a grassroots and volunteer-run film festival committed to presenting honest portrayals of the diversity of the Asian and Pacific Islander American experience. DisOrient is a program of the Chinese American Benevolent Association (CABA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit cultural arts organization that also runs a youth group (Chinese Lion Dance Troupe), which is comprised of middle school, high school, and college age students. CABA also offers college scholarships for local Asian American youth and aspiring filmmakers.

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 7-minute shot, the journey of one man’s awakening from isolation back to humanity. The film stars Albert and is co-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… HOW HE SQUEEZES SO MUCH RAW EMOTION INTO A SINGLE SHOT MAKES THIS THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY TO SPEND–AND PUT INTO PERSPECTIVE–THE NEXT SEVEN MINUTES OF YOUR LIFE.”