Over the years, Urban Media Arts (UMA) has had a collaborative relationship with the Arlington International Film Festival, an organization dedicated to developing, promoting, and increasing multicultural awareness and understanding through film and the arts. The festival is a means for recognizing that such diversity enriches our community.

Urban Media Arts sponsored the 2022 festival and was able to be present for the award ceremony as well as meet several of the winning filmmakers. One of the young award winners visited Malden for a tour and interview.

A few days before the Arlington International Film Festival awards ceremony and screenings, filmmaker ShiJie Weng visited Malden and met for an interview. Weng was a participant in the Voices of Youth portion of the festival. He won High School Student filmmaker award for his film “I have a Dream, a movie dream.” ShiJie and his parents travelled from their home in Spain to the U.S. to attend the screening and accept the award.

On that unseasonably warm day in November, I showed ShiJie and his parents a little of Malden and then sat down with him in our podcast studio to chat about filmmaking.

ShiJie had lots to say about his filmmaking journey. Listen and get inspired by this young filmmaker’s heart-warming passion to inspire others to overcome obstacles and reach their dreams.