Mickey Chen was a pioneering LGBT film director of multiple LGBT-themed documentaries including 'Boys for Beauty' and 'The War of the Roses'. Other titles by the filmmaker include 'Not Just a Wedding Banquet' and 'Scars on Memory'. He died of cardiogenic shock at the age of 51 years in 2018 after suffering from hypertension for many years.

Much of Chen's work was inspired by his own difficult childhood and his struggles coming out to a less-than-accepting father, who initially rejected him due to his sexuality. His father made him kneel in front of ancestral tablets for bringing dishonour to the family. Chen published an autobiography entitled 'Taipei Father, New York Mother', which uncovers the pains of his family woes. It became a bestseller after its release in 2011 and was awarded the Taipei International Book Exhibition Prize. Chen also later adapted it into a stage play in 2012. Chen eventually reconciled with his father.

The story details how his initially wealthy family met adversity during the 1970s and his parents were forced to emigrate to the U.S. in order to feed their family back in Taiwan. Chen’s mother and father split before his father returned years later and became the subject of blame for the family’s disintegration over the following years.

Chen often made media headlines due his unyielding advocacy of LGBT rights, which regularly saw him take to the streets in support. He referred to himself using the feminine nickname Lao Niang (老娘) and was known by the outside world as Jade Sister (琪姐).

(Source: the-singapore-lgbt-encyclopaedia.fandom.com) Edit Biography