In July 2016, Tsyen Shen, a Chinese filmmaker based in New York, filmed in the Village the first five episodes of “Grab & Go,” a new series that shows a fresh and unique point of view on our city, from a far far away perspective. In the series, a small convenience store, populated by each and every possible kind of customer, becomes a microcosm that is a perfect metaphor for New York City itself.
Photo by Yifeng Li.
Grab & Go is an actual convenience store, owned and managed by the same Chinese family for almost ten years. The section of 6th Avenue where the store is located, between West 4th and Waverly Place, right outside the West 4th subway station, is a crossroads of the world, where the West Village meets the rest of the planet.
Tsyen Shen wrote the series herself, based on her own experience as she first arrived in New York, six years ago. “The first days I felt lost, but then I found Grab & Go, where I could find familiar food while sitting and seeing a new, diverse world waking before my eyes, every day.” She has since become a successful filmmaker, and Grab & Go is for her a project of love come true. A love letter to the city that adopted her.
“Grab and Go” is a series of bite-size comedy stories about deli cashiers’ pointless daily lives, starring Yurika Ohno and Gary Ng. It is written and directed by Tsyen Shen and produced by Yifeng Li and Richard Kim. “Grab and Go” is going on a film festival tour and will soon be released on the internet.
