Dan is an Emmy-nominated director, writer, and producer. His character-driven cinematic work explores outsiders fighting human nature, flawed systems, and the passage of time.

He is the son of Chinese immigrants and grew up in small town Manhattan, Kansas, where he developed his love of horizon lines, portraiture, and do-it-yourself filmmaking. He studied fine art film photography in college, graduating from the USC School of Cinematic Arts, focusing on cinematography and directing.

His films have been featured on Vimeo Staff Picks and Short of the Week, and (among others) at Slamdance Film Festival and Tribeca Festival, where he premiered his debut documentary feature film Accepted to critical acclaim, acquisition for theatrical and digital distribution, and an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Social Issue Documentary.

On the Internet, his directing work for Jubilee Media has garnered over 100+ million views on a variety of unscripted shows exploring mortality, political division, and modern love.

Dan is based in Los Angeles, working on new projects as he prepares to direct his first narrative feature film.

Management

Achieve Entertainment | Diego D. Arrambide

Diego@achieve-ent.com

Direct

thedchen@gmail.com

Select Press

Deadline The Gotham, HBO Documentary Films’ Second Documentary Development Initiative Sets Cohort

Deadline ‘Accepted’ Filmmakers On How They Pivoted When “Miracle School Story” They Thought They Were Making Suddenly Exploded: “The S**t Hit The Fan”

The Guardian Accepted: behind a US college admissions scandal and the students affected

Talkhouse Why Media Representation Alone Will Never Make You Feel Accepted

The Black Cape Mag How ‘Accepted’ Director Dan Chen Shines A Light On Students Amidst A Broken System

Deadline Tribeca Doc ‘Accepted’ Acquired By Greenwich Entertainment, Gets Summer Release Date

The Hollywood Reporter ‘Accepted’: Film Review | Tribeca 2021

Filmmaker Magazine Dan Chen on his Tribeca-Debuting High School and College Admissions Doc, Accepted

Final Draft How Accepted exposed the realities of a 21st century student and the American education system

The Moveable Fest Tribeca 2021 Interview: Dan Chen on the Hard-Earned Education of Accepted

Mutha Magazine The Hype and High-Stakes of Education: A Conversation with the Filmmaker Behind Accepted

Short of the Week Ella Online Premiere

Adolescent Ella: behind the new American coming of age story

Short of the Week Giselle Online Premiere