05/12/2009
So Yong Kim's "Treeless Mountain"
The 2009 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival celebrated the close of its 25th Anniversary edition by handing out awards in a variety of categories. Tze Chun’s “Children of Invention” and So Yong Kim’s “Treeless Mountain” were the big winners, with “Mountain” being honored with the Outstanding Director Award as well as awards for its young stars, Hee Yeon Kim and Song Hee Kim. For the full article click here.
The Apple Store, SoHo is teaming up with the Tribeca Film Festival again to celebrate the spirit of independent film, by hosting free filmmaking events from April 22 to May 3. On Saturday, April 25th, the store will host filmmaking duo So Yong Kim and Bradley Rust Gray to discuss their work. Kim will talk about her film TREELESS MOUNTAIN, which will be at Film Forum, and Gray will discuss his film THE EXPLODING GIRL which will make its North American premiere at Tribeca. Click here for more information.
04/13/2009
RFF Mentor So Yong Kim’s film, TREELESS MOUNTAIN, opens Wednesday, April 22nd at Film Forum in NYC, as well as other theaters across the country. Please click here to read the full NYT A.O. Scott article, or click here for more information on the film. Below are some other US theaters where the film will be in limited release.
01/08/2009
Cinereach is happy to announce that Reach Film Fellowship mentor, So Yong Kim’s film TREELESS MOUNTAIN was selected to be part of the 39th Forum program at the Berlin International Film Festival. According to the festival’s website, “This year’s Forum films surprise with their attention to detail, their willingness to draw from personal experiences, and their astonishing faith in their own filmic language.” Congratulations So!
When I was making short experimental films and theater productions in school, I was working with no money, zero budget. I usually asked friends to shoot for me in exchange for some beer or food. When I made theatrical pieces and I needed to make costumes, I went to various post-offices in Chicago and took some of their overnight envelopes that are partially made of fabric. When I had enough, I sewed them together for costumes. Finding and making things with a limited budget is what I have learned in school. This remains a valuable lesson for my work.
So observes on the set of Skip Rocks
Sometimes film students have the impression that the budget of a film will dictate its quality. This is not the case. I believe the most important thing a director must do is to figure out the heart of the story. Once this can be communicated to the cast and crew, the film is on its way. When there is passion and it’s clear, then everyone on the production will support whatever decision the director makes. If the film’s budget requires scenes to be cut, then the director can evaluate what scenes can go or be modified without sacrificing the heart of the story.
Brendon and So confer privately on the set of Skip Rocks
I feel lucky that I had the chance to visit Brendon on his set. I saw that he was thinking on his feet and working well with his crew. It remains to be seen how the film will be composed at the editing stage. I am excited for him.
Phil and I stopped by Brendon’s set in Goshen, NY on November 23rd and were pleased to see things running relatively smoothly. Brendon kept his crew small, which saved budget and allowed him to roll with the punches on set. He seemed to have formed a great bond with his small cast (with whom he spent two long, cold days).
Brendon McQueen and So Yong Kim
Brendon McQueen with DP Lindsay Mann
So Yong Kim stood by and made some helpful suggestions on lighting setups, the coverage of scenes, and more. She commented that she was pleased to see Brendon and Lindsay (his DP) working so well together and staying calm under pressure.
11/04/2008
Brendon and So's first mentor meeting
Cinereach has been kind enough to pair me up with mentor So Yong Kim- the uber talented and decidely amazing director of such films as In-Between Days and Treeless Mountain. We got coffee in the West Village and talked about pre-production and film’s larger picture. So was incredibly open with her advice and I look forward to our next meeting. Thanks again So!
What a thoughtful and unexpected experience this has been so far!!! Cinereach has been incredible in all regards; from providing knowledgeable advisers and experts to offering us free film stock from Kodak! Last week was paramount for all of the fellows who I’m sure feel just as pampered and lucky as I do.
Brendon McQueen at Cinereach HQ
Steve Garfinkle from Kodak shared his expertise on film stock, followed by a meeting with producers Jeremy Kipp Walker and Susan Leber who shared the importance of working with what you’ve got, mastering the economy of story telling and thorough pre-production; followed by an eye opening sit down with Director Edet Belzberg who stressed the significance of emotional trajectory; followed by a devastatingly funny and educational dinner with DP Ellen Kuras whose veteran status among today’s film makers is legendary. Followed by, Followed by, Followed by – it has been dizzying with all of the crucial information swirling about.
I liken it to a couple years of film school bundled into a couple days! Afia Nathanial’s script workshop was as insightful as it was fun! Getting a fresh perspective on our scripts has meant all of the difference as we begin plowing through pre-production. I meet with Paola Mendoza this week and can’t wait to hear about directing actors – especially children as this process is a concern of mine – having never done it before on such a well funded or well supported project. I can’t wait to meet my adviser So Yong Kim – I have a thousand questions for her.
It should also be mentioned that the fellowship has not only provided top tier industry advisers, but has also been hard at work providing press, software, and endless moral support. I’d like to take a moment and sincerely thank all of the Cinereach staff, for without their hard work and dedication, none of this would have been possible.
I anticipate the next couple of weeks being a labor of love as my team and I figure out pre-production. I recently locked locations up in Westchester (see the pictures here).
and look forward to casting over the next 10 days or so.
I’d like to welcome DP Lindsay Mann, AD Ben Goldman and Producer Victoria Katz on board!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
10/10/2008
Dena Greenbaum (Blues), Danielle Russell (Bridging the Gap), Jules Monteyne (I Go to War...), Lindsay Mann (DP, Skip Rocks), Brendon McQueen (Skip Rocks) - Photo by Andrea Fischman
Cinereach’s second annual Reach Film Fellowship program officially kicked off Monday, when we welcomed Brendon McQueen, Danielle Russell, Dena Greenbaum and Jules Monteyne to the program. They spent two days with us, doing workshops with the program’s advisors to get them started on their film projects. From this point, they will be paired up with their Mentors, prep, shoot and edit their short films.
Monday and Tuesday’s Presenters included Steve Garfinkel (of RFF sponsor Kodak), indie producers Susan Leber (Down to the Bone, Adrift in Manhattan) and Jeremy Kipp Walker (Half Nelson, Sugar), documentary director Edet Belzberg (Children Underground, The Recruiter), screenwriter/filmmaker Afia Nathaniel, director/actor Paola Mendoza (Still Standing, Autumn’s Eyes) and director/cinematographer Ellen Kuras (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Summer of Sam) gave their time generously and provided some welcome coaching. Cinereach staffers got to be flies on the wall in all those sessions (sometimes getting to participate when numbers were needed). Fractured Atlas is the fiscal sponsor to all our Fellows’ projects, and also came by to answer questions.
Each Fellow’s Mentor was also announced this week: Brendon’s Skip Rocks will benefit from the guidance of So Yong Kim (In Between Days, Treeless Mountain); Danielle’s Bridging the Gap will have Renee Bishop (of Savannah, GA’s Farmer’s Almanac TV) on its team; Dena Greenbaum’s Blues will benefit from Jeremy Kipp Walker’s (Half Nelson, Maria Full of Grace) expertise; and Nicole Kassell (The Woodsman) will work with Jules on I Go to War with Everything that Doesn’t Make Sense in a Bathtub.
We’ll track the progress of the Fellowship here on this blog, invite Fellows, Mentors, Advisors and Cinereach staff to blog, and also offer you some more detailed descriptions, photos and video of what the Fellows are experiencing so the wider Cinereach community can benefit as well. Subscribe to RSS feed to stay on top of the action!
