A Chinese student tries to break her accent at an American theater school.


DE CLOSIN NIGHT is used with permission from Shicong Zhu. Learn more at https://shicongzhu.com.


Siyi is the first Chinese student to be selected for a prestigious American theater conservatory program, and her family is flying in from China to see her perform works by Chekhov. But in one acting class, she struggles with the extremely tough teacher's dictum to remove her accent as she performs.

Her struggles eventually threaten her place in the performance, and if she doesn't improve, her teacher will relegate her to the role of understudy for Jane, who doesn't struggle with her accent. Feeling the pressure, Siyi stops speaking Chinese with her mother and avoids talking to her cousin, even when his father dies. But in her quest to perform, she also risks losing her identity and her connection to her family and culture.

Directed by Shicong Zhu and written by Ella Rouwen Chen, who also plays the lead role of Siyi, this compelling, powerful short drama is a meditation on identity, success and how immigrants shapeshift and mold themselves to fit into their new culture and what they choose to retain as they go about their journey in life. With a brightly engaging, confident visual style and a solid script that tracks each twist and turn of Siyi's story, it centers Siyi's struggles and emotions as she sets her sights on success in her acting conservatory program, charting both her determined efforts and the potential risks of taking them too far.

As a foreign student from China, Siyi stands out, but not necessarily in a positive way with her acting teacher, who wants her to iron out her accent for her program's performance. Siyi drills and practices relentlessly, and the film deftly portrays the difficulty of her vocal exercises, as well as the technical work of performance. We get a sense of how difficult it is to remold one's native accent, and Siyi is determined to master it so she can perform in her program's show for her family.

But when that performance is contingent on her losing her accent, she takes even more drastic steps, especially as she's often compared to another Asian student in class, which only heightens her anxiety and sense of inadequacy. She refuses to speak Chinese with her mother and even avoids communication with her cousin. As Siyi, Chen captures her determination and strength of will, but also her ambivalence, especially as it expands into guilt and isolation. Siyi realizes that her efforts are severing her connection to her family and homeland, as well as damaging the relationships she holds dear.

DE CLOSIN NIGHT ends after the titular event, with Siyi having achieved her goal. But she has also achieved something she has discovered is even more valuable: clarity on who she is and what she will and won't do to succeed. She knows what she values, and she also knows her value. Armed with this knowledge, she moves forward on her singular path one that balances her drive for creative expression and fulfillment but still honors who she is, background and all.