Tribeca Film Festival - 9at38
A Juilliard-trained violinist is closer than ever to realizing his unwavering pursuit of the last 7 years -- to bring North and South Koreans together straddling their uncrossable border for a first-ever joint concert.
Interview with Director Catherine Lee
Watch 9at38 here:
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
This project began by pure chance. I have spent a decade in humanitarian aid working 18 countries and everywhere without exception, hostility between groups underlies the direst social problems. The lack of human connection allows the "us versus them" mentality to perpetuate. If two people from opposing sides can relate, that makes all the difference between war and peace.
This is what drove me to make films, leading me to a decision in summer 2015 to make the leap from full-time employment at a premiere international organization to independent documentary making.
Two weeks after that decision, I came across a small article about the story of Hyung-Joon Won. He inspired me — a fellow Korean with divided family and a fellow musician. Three weeks later, I flew myself and a lean crew of two from America to Korea to film this man I’d never met.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In recent days, breaking news about North Korea have taken a dramatic turn with alerts of North-South Korean/US goodwill. But I cannot forget that what was said to me mere weeks ago by US military contacts in the know: “If I were you, I’d get my family out of Seoul.” Violence had been justified by the likes of Senator Lindsey Graham with statements devoid of empathy: “If thousands die, they’re going to die over there. They’re not going to die over here.”
In other words, in America and much of the world, discourse on the Korean “situation” is pitifully one-dimensional – the military, not human, side. This film promises a very different kind of perspective of the Korean conflict.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
9at38 is a universal film about transcending manmade divisions. It is timely in an era of social chasms in the U.S. and beyond.
Simultaneously, at the most basic level, ours is a film about one man who gives up everything — the glamour of performing in concert halls as a Juilliard graduate, 7 years of his life and counting, and an utmost personal sacrifice which is revealed in the film — for a greater calling.
How have the treatment and film evolved over the course of their development?
So much happened in reality which we initially tried to capture in the film. It was a feature length cut. Ultimately, we underwent rounds and rounds of cutting – which felt like rips at my heart, let me tell you! – but this permitted the rise of the soul of the film. When bogged down in the details, we couldn’t let the core emotions shine through, and the latter, not former, is what is going to leave a lasting impression on the audiences and cause them to care about the film’s message.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The most common feedback from an audience member who comes up after a screening is that they didn’t expect to be so emotionally affected by the story. 9at38 has united viewers as diverse as UN diplomats to university students to festival viewers in laughter and tears – which is very rewarding, because I deliberately wanted this film to have the power to do both.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
It is actually myself who is most critical after each viewing. Importantly, I often ask myself what is the point of an effort such as Won’s, a joint concert between North and South Koreans. I remind myself that the answer is this: if a single young North Korean musician and a South Korean counterpart can come to view each other as “us” as opposed to “them”, then the domino effect begins. Interactions need not be grand to shake the prejudices taught by school and society. Music is an especially meaningful interaction because it requires listening to each other, adjusting, and achieving that moment of perfect harmony. Importantly, participants and spectators will share about their experience with their peers. When enough minds and hearts are influenced, that is “social change” by its very definition. To me, this theory of change is why highlighting an effort such as Won’s is worthwhile.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I hope awareness of 9at38 and its message as amplified by We Are Moving Stories can play a role in stimulating a public discourse about Korea alternative to that of nuclear weaponry and nothing else. It is a place I and 75 million others call home. Let's attempt constructive peace before annihilative peace. 9at38 is a symbol of possibilities, not just for Korea but other hostile parts of the globe.
Who do you need to come on board (eg. producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
More film festivals will help spread awareness, and journalists and policy makers who can use the film as a tool to create impact towards peace and reconciliation in Korea.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Efforts such as Won’s go beyond the political and strive for human exchange among one people forcibly divided in two. Of course, this is in some ways utmost political — both sides need to first come to the table, and perhaps music is what it takes, whether to address human rights or peace. With a liberal, more diplomacy-prone administration in power in South Korea for the first time in a decade, and an ever-evolving rhetoric between Trump and Kim Jong-Un, the timeliness of this film — and the urgency with which it needs to be shown to the world — is paramount.
We want the outside world to see the human, not military, aspect of the Korean situation. We also ask North and South Koreans to see each other as humans rather than the government by which they are ruled. The way to achieve this is through diplomacy which takes place beyond the politics — at the level of human-to-human exchange which breeds empathy and rids of the “us versus them” mentality. This could include reunions of divided families.
Ultimately, we advocate a move towards a permanent end, a peace resolution to the Korean War, which remains at armistice after 75 years. Let there be normalized border relations, opened economic transactions, and free movement of people and ideas (in particular for my North Korean brothers and sisters).
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
What does it take for the two Koreas to reach reconciliation? What can we do to help facilitate the bridge between the two Koreas? What does it take for the people of two hostile nations to come together as human beings, transcending geopolitics?
Would you like to add anything else?
The director and two of the three producers on this documentary are women of color.
We are not only passionate about telling our story at hand but about pushing the bounds as an underrepresented minority in the industry of documentary filmmaking. We are particularly empathic about the story of Won and his calling to use art for a greater good.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I am directing a feature doc about South Sudanese “Lost Boy” Peter Ajak (33), former child soldier and refugee turned Cambridge Ph.D. Against the wishes of his president, he has galvanized young leaders from warring tribes to show unity is possible. Upon Peter’s appeal, a dozen young men and women, with diverging political beliefs and professions – lawyer, doctor, bishop, reggae singer, and more – mobilize across the capitals of East African nations with an ambitious goal: to bring peace to their beloved homeland, the “youngest and most broken nation in the world.”
TR Boyce, producer of 9at38 whom I have asked to co-direct this new movie, and I traveled to Africa for six weeks last summer to film this once-in-a-lifetime story. I have known Peter for thirteen years, and I continue to work in Africa as an aid worker after first stepping foot here eight years ago. I love the land and its people, and have never felt so passionate about doing a story justice. We will enter post production as soon as we secure the resources to do so.
Interview: April 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIAQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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9 at 38
A Juilliard-trained violinist is closer than ever to realizing his unwavering pursuit of the last 7 years -- to bring North and South Koreans together straddling their uncrossable border for a first-ever joint concert.
Length: 17mins
Director: Catherine Lee
Producer: TR Boyce Jr, Ciara Lacy, Sarah Kim
About the writer, director and producer:
Catherine Lee is an award-winning filmmaker and a humanitarian worker with experience in 17 countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
T.R. Boyce, Jr. is an award-winning producer who has worked with filmmakers ranging from Steven Spielberg to Mike Nichols, Frank Marshall, and Scott Rudin.
Ciara Lacy's documentaries have shown in theaters and aired on Netflix, PBS, ABC, TLC, Discovery, Bravo and A&E. Her feature-length documentary OUT OF STATE premiered this June at the LA Film Festival.
Sarah Kim is a filmmaker and the recipient of the Motion Pictures of America Association Award, Peter Stark Memorial Award, Armed With a Camera Fellowship, and the New York Women in Film & Television scholarship award.
Key cast: Hyungjoon Won, a Juilliard-trained violinist.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): distributors, film festivals, journalists
Social media handles: Website: www.9at38.com
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram: @9at38movie
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month? Tribeca Film Festival