Based in Brooklyn, Tiffany Jiang is a Chinese-American filmmaker who gravitates toward stories about identity struggles, cultural taboos, and personal traumas. She is now pursuing a Master’s in Media Studies at The New School after having completed the Documentary Media Studies Advanced Certificate program in May 2022. She pivoted into filmmaking after working for almost a decade as a designer for media companies and streaming services. Tiffany’s creative work has been exhibited by Pioneer Works, The International Center of Photography, and POV Docs. She has had the opportunity to screen her work at various film festivals around the country.

Originally, I set out to make a documentary exploring loss and grief through the relationship people have with their pets. The focus broadened over time as I did research into pet loss, commemoration, and grief experienced during COVID. I noticed that I was particularly struggling to process the sudden loss of a dear friend, who died at only 22 years old in 2018.

It seemed like grief was at the forefront of everyone’s minds but we weren’t talking about it openly. In a way, that’s why I thought making a film on pets or animals would be more approachable. In the end, I decided to break away from that and face the matter head-on, directly addressing the notion that grief forever changes you.

To quote C.S. Lewis, “The death of a beloved is an amputation.” As Margaret says in her interview, experiencing death changed every fiber of her being. This statement resonated with me greatly as someone who feels the same. The making of this film has been a healing process in and of itself. Engraved is an invitation to reflect on the losses we’ve faced (or are preparing to, for some), reconsider how to live with grief, and create opportunities to support each other.