Welcome back to the ARTS podcast! In this episode, Kimberly Han and I talk about her journey of moving to LA to pursue directing seven years ago, and the realization of one of her biggest dreams this year - the creation of her film Champion. Champion, a story inspired by her own personal experiences as a daughter of immigrants, is about how 9-year-old Korean girl seeks to rebuild a sense of community and mend her broken heart, after moving to California without her "goose father" who stayed behind to make money for his family.
In our conversation, we also explore how the creative journey is like for Asian immigrants, as well as the themes behind Champion - and our own personal coming-of-age stories of anguish AND self-reliance while growing up.
Prepare for your heart to be seen and touched <3
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About Kimberly: Kimberly is a Korean American writer-director with a passion for socially conscious stories that push boundaries in genre or form. She also likes elevated genres where she can build worlds that span from sci-fi to horror to magical realism. For her day job, Kimberly is a Manager of Scripted TV at NBCUniversal, and she previously worked at Leverage Management and Anonymous Content. She was a Creative Executive fellow with Film Independent Project Involve, where she produced several short films that premiered and won awards at major festivals, including Berlinale and SXSW. Kimberly graduated from the University of Chicago with an Honors BA in International Studies & Cinema Studies. Her hobby is baking cakes for her friends. Her specialty is a fluffy Korean strawberry shortcake, which comes out right 75% of the time.
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Donation Link: https://www.filmindependent.org/programs/fiscal-sponsorship/champion/
Website: https://kimberly-han.com/
IG: @championtheshortfilm