Shih-Ching Tsou was born and raised in Taipei, Taiwan. She came to New York for her Master’s degree in Media Studies at The New School. It was at The New School where she met Sean Baker. Together they co-created the feature film Take Out, which premiered at the Slamdance film festival, and won the Regal Cinemas Dreammaker Award. It was also nominated for John Cassavetes Award in Independent’s Spirit Awards in 2009. It is a social-realist drama about an undocumented Chinese immigrant in New York City. CAVU Pictures released Take Out in theaters nationwide in 2008. Take Out is available on DVD, distributed by KINO International.