Jia

Tyler Jenkins (Eric) and Sel Hiew (Ming) stand side-by-side in a still frame from the award-winning short film, Jia.
Tyler Jenkins and Sel Hiew in Jia

Jia is a short film about Ming, a grieving Chinese mother who arrives in Australia to mourn her son, Yao, who was killed in a road accident. She goes on a road trip with Eric, who she learns was in a romantic relationship with Yao, which challenges her conservative values.

Jia premiered at Flickerfest in 2023 [1], where it won the Spectrum Films Award for Best Direction in an Australian Short Film (Vee Shi) and Honourable Mention for Best Actor (Sel Hiew.)

Jia was written, co-produced, directed and edited by Vee Shi, who created this film as a letter to his mother [2].