Albert’s film Welcome to the World, which was part of the 2021 lineup for the Europe-based Short Film Breaks, has won the Golden Elephant for Best Mental Health Short Film, which comes with a cash prize. The Silver Elephant went to As a Fish Out of Water from Italy, and the Bronze Elephant went to Spoon from the United States.

Short Film Breaks is the only film festival taking place within private companies, public and non-profit organizations, in a bid to offer smart break opportunities while promoting the independent movie industry around the world. Created by filmmakers and human resources people, Short Film Breaks creates a bridge between hard to distribute films (especially independent short films) and hard to reach audiences (employees and beneficiaries from our partner companies and NGOs and people living in remote villages around the world).

For this edition, Short Film Breaks is taking place in the following organizations: UBIS Club, DXC Technology, Estuar Foundation, Fortuna, Casa Pariurilor, Total, IBM, Intelactsoft and DataDiggers. There will also be screenings in 19 rural communities from 7 countries (Nepal, Indonesia, Kenya, Tanzania, Romania, Senegal and Guatemala) with EduCab and their local partners. Finally, there will be a public Action. On Mental Health event for the Romanian mental health community, organized in partnership with Estuar Foundation and Mental Health Europe.

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.”