A beloved mother, wife, life-long Seattle resident, and well-respected photographer and filmmaker, Della Chen passed away in March 2025, when her vehicle was unexpectedly hit by a speeding driver suspected of being under the influence. She was 53.
Chen was well-connected to many communities of creativity and care. She was a long-time volunteer at Pablove, an organization dedicated to helping youth who have cancer, and a board member of Youth in Focus, an arts education and youth development nonprofit. Her work was most recently visible through her documentary short film, She Marches in Chinatown, which is about the 70-year history of the Seattle Chinese Community Girls Drill Team.
Producer Amy Benson first began working with Chen on the project in 2021, during the pandemic. Chen – who grew up in the neighborhoods of Ballard and Green Lake and was often surrounded by mostly white neighbors – had wished to join the drill team from a young age. The Chinese Community Girls Drill team was created by Ruby Chow in 1952 so that girls could have an activity to do afterschool rather than help their parents. Regardless of its name, the project was not just Chinese; it was Seattle.
As Benson explains, “[Della’s family] would go to the SeaFair parade every year and see the Drill Team, and she loved them, but never… did it… so she regretted that. She really wanted to be a part of it.”
Shortly after Chen’s daughter Georgia auditioned and became part of the drill team, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and the Drill Team was faced with the challenges of how to continue their craft. It was the 70th Year Anniversary, and Chen felt concerned that nobody knew about its important history, even though it was a Seattle constant.
“It was so obvious that this is a project – not because she wanted to make a ton of money or turn it into a whole franchise or series, but it was because of her daughter,” commented Tuyen Than, creator and co-owner of Drag & Drop Creative, a consulting and design agency that helped build the website for the documentary. “As [Della] was learning more about the community and the neighborhood, she wanted to showcase that story more.”
Benson admitted that she initially didn’t have time to work on the film due to family, work, and health responsibilities. Still, she committed because of her love for Chen.
“[She’s a] sure bet,” Benson admitted. “If you’re hanging out with Della, it’s a really good time.”
The magnetism of being drawn to Chen is something felt by many. Than, who is also a photographer with her own studio, feels that both were drawn to communities that they didn’t necessarily grow up with, and that as creative women, she felt a bond.
“I could see myself in her,” Than said.
Benson, similarly, admired Chen from afar before she ever met her. She explained how she and her husband were also wedding photographers, but when they saw Della’s work, they joked, “We could never compete with this!”
The two finally met in 2009, when both Benson and Chen were photographing One Night Count – an event that attempts to keep track of the number of homeless individuals in a city. Benson had just given birth, and Chen’s daughter was 2 and son was 4. The two continued to stay friends through the decade, and Benson even had a chance to volunteer with Chen at Pablove. Chen volunteered to teach kids with cancer about photography, and they also organized exhibits for children with cancer.
“She’s such a natural photographer,” Benson commented. “She’s self-taught, and that’s how she taught these kids. These kids are not long for this world. Very sick kids. And the way she was with them was really, really great to watch. To see it shifted how I teach, in a way.”
Since Spring 2022, Chen had also been on the board of the nonprofit Youth in Focus. According to Samantha Kelly, its Executive Director, Chen first began volunteering at YIF in the early 2000s as a mentor in the organization’s darkroom program, where she helped students develop their film and process their pictures.
Chen truly excelled whenever working with others was involved, including in the influential role of recruiting new board members for YIF. As Kelly explained, “When she would interview new candidates and talk to folks about the organization, she just lit up,… She believed passionately in providing young people with creative resources and the tools and the outlets to share their voices and their ideas.”
The same happened when Chen was working with students at YIF, as she would sometimes be invited into classrooms to share her journey.
“Every time we had her engage with the young people, it wasn’t just her sharing her biography. She would really connect with them, ask them questions…” Kelly remembered. “[She was] just such a gift. I really think it was just because she was so comfortable and authentic in her own self, and that just shined out of her, and people just gravitated to it.”
“She’s amazing,” Kelly continued. “We had this little tiny slice of her time in the universe, but what she did with her film and in the community… what a gift that the world has lost.”
Speaking to Chen’s ability as a creator, Benson recalled a day where the She Marches in Chinatown crew filmed in the Chong Wa parking lot where the Drill Team rehearses. The shoot was complete with a drone operator, crane, professional news photographer, and professional sound guy – and very few people wanted to charge the production.
“Because of Della, they were happy to do it…” Benson commented. “Everyone just wanted to make the film happen.”
Though the shoot was extremely complex and it was Chen’s first film, Benson insisted that Chen “never questioned it.” The result is a sweeping, dramatic capture of the Drill Team, which reads on camera as the work of a filmmaker who has many years of experience under her belt.
“She had vision, and I think that besides just missing her, that’s what’s really painful… and her being her mom… is that we’re missing [her vision].”
With support and desire from the family, Benson is now helping to take over management of She Marches in Chinatown and its future screenings, conversations, and even a permanent future exhibit at Wing Luke Museum. The film is already available for use in local schools, royalty-free, and it will have a number of upcoming screenings, including one at MOHAI on May 10 and one at Wing Luke Museum on May 15. A community memorial for Chen just took place on April 26.
Vee Hua 華婷婷 (they/them) is a writer, filmmaker, and artist who splits their time between Oaxaca, Mexico, and Seattle, Washington. Much of their work unifies their metaphysical interests with their belief that art can positively transform the self and society. They are the Editor-in-Chief of REDEFINE magazine and recently held Interim Editor-in-Chief roles at the diverse journalistic outlets International Examiner and South Seattle Emerald. Prior to that, they were the Executive Director of the interdisciplinary community hub, Northwest Film Forum, where they played a groundbreaking role in making the space more welcoming and accessible for diverse audiences. Their latest short film, Reckless Spirits (2022), is a metaphysical, multi-lingual POC buddy comedy; the feature film version is slated for production in 2026. Keep updated on their work at linktr.ee/hellomynameisvee.
