For the second year in a row, Albert’s film Welcome to the World screened in Spain during the December 9-11, 2022, weekend as part of the annual Rol Por La Esperanza, a role-playing marathon organized by the role-playing community Éxito Crítico which raised over 10,000 € for Agarra la vida (Grab Life) and Teléfono de la Esperanza (Telephone of Hope), a permanent toll-free telephone line for suicide prevention.

On the last day of the weekend, Welcome to the World was awarded 2nd prize out of all 20 films screened at Agarra la vida over the past 3 years. The special sculpture Albert received in the mail represents a self-hug, which symbolizes the importance of emotional self-care.

For World Suicide Prevention Day in 2020, Welcome to the World was one of five films selected by a jury and a team of experts in psychology and psychiatry for Agarra la vida, a short film festival with a mission to prevent suicide and combat its stigma.

Founded in 1971, Teléfono de la Esperanza (Telephone of Hope) is an NGO with 29 centers in Spain for crisis intervention and the promotion of social-emotional health.

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.”