Genre
Synopsis
The summer of 1995. In the outskirts of Seoul lives a family plagued by their alcoholic father and the reminisce of his failed dreams as a violinist. Their hardened mother, Myung-Hee, and her rebellious son, Ji-Hoon do everything to keep this from Ha-Eun, his 10-year-old who idolizes her father in her fantastical daydreams. When Myung-Hee and her two children are selected for the U.S. visa lottery, Ha-Eun tearfully leaves her father behind grasping onto his promise that he will join her in America if she gets a solo on stage.
They leave this virulent life behind, departing for Maryland to live with Myung-Hee’s older brother and his family. In this new world, seemingly brimming with opportunities, our newcomers set out to make their dreams come true. But their chase leads them to the inevitable disillusions of being a foreigner and ultimately tests the only refuge they have – their family.
Bio
Born in Madrid, and raised in Maryland, Christina YR Lim is a Korean–American writer/director who explores the Asian diaspora through fish-out-of-water, genre-bending stories. Lim began in theatre, working with various companies including the Goodman Theatre, Center Theatre Group, and East West Players. Christina then turned to filmmaking, earning her MFA from USC’s School of Cinematic Arts in directing and screenwriting.
Her films have been screened at multiple film festivals including Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival, RiverRun, Cinequest, LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, Catalina Film Festival, and CAAMFest. She co-directed SAMIR, a feature film, funded and distributed by Warner Bros., which premiered at Heartland Int. Film Festival. She has also directed films in Shanghai and Beijing and is an alumnus of Yale’s directing fellowship.
As a writer, Lim won SeriesFest's Women’s Writing Competition garnering her a development deal with Kyra Sedgwick's production company, Big Swing Productions. Her scripts have been placed in the Academy Nicholl's Fellowship, the Bluecat Screenplay Competition, and The Script Lab, among others. Her script, GYOPO placed top 50 for The Launch Pad, in the finals for the Wescreenplay Diverse Voices, and was an official selection on The Red List.
Recently, Lim was a fellow of the Black List x Women in Film Feature Residency and Cine Qua Non's Storylines lab. Her first feature film as an auteur, B-SIDE: FOR TAYLOR is set to release in 2024.
Awards History
Wscripted 2024 - Cannes Screenplay List
Credits
Producer - Kimberly Hwang
Cinematographer - Ed Wu