Shirley Yumeng He

B.A., Anthropology, University of Southern California, 2020

M.A. Visual Anthropology, University of Southern California, 2021

Shirley is a visual artist and documentary filmmaker from Beijing, China.

Shirley's background in ethnographic practices informs her storytelling, which recognizes the interwoven relationship between individual narratives and the cultural and social ambiance one participates in. Her passion for fictional media inspired her to explore multimodal forms of storytelling, blurring the line between fiction and documentary.

Her first short ethnographic film, Kite (2020), explores the intersection between mental health, feminine embodiment, and the Chinese diaspora. Her second film, Échale Ganas: The Villa’s Tacos Story (2021), is a coalescence of her exploration of the documentary form and her long-standing interest in telling stories about food, memory, diaspora, and underrepresented experiences.

At Stanford, Shirley wants to continue telling stories that expand on the individual’s embodied experience while further exploring the art of filmmaking with an intermedial approach. She intends to make films that reimagine the immigrant experience, particularly of the Chinese diaspora, exploring topics including but not limited to memory, food, land, economy, gender, and class. 

Instagram: @shirley_yumeng_he

Website: www.yumenghefilm.com