CREW:

Writer and Director: Kristie Ko
Producer: Tse Hei Long Christy
Cinematographer: Kayla Tong
Production Designer: Canice Tam
1st Assistant Director: Sasa Wong
Editor: Mart Sarmiento
Sound Designer: Emily Chan
Composer: Christopher Lai

SYNOPSIS:

It is the summer of ’99 and Janet is expecting her first child, while taking care of eight-year-old Lum Lum as a domestic helper. When Lum Lum finds out about the pregnancy, Janet asks her to keep it a secret as she is not ready to go home to the Philippines. As Lum Lum makes preparations for the new baby, Janet’s guilt pushes her to play along, and the lie snowballs. How will Janet come to terms with leaving one child behind for the other? Ateh is dedicated to the unappreciated mothers, a tribute to their wit, strength, sacrifice and all-encompassing love.

EXHIBITION:

2021 Golden Harvest Awards - Special Invitation // https://ghsa.org.tw/gha/festival/film/78
2021 Fresh Wave International Short Film Festival - Official Selection

Ateh

Sáng đi qua trên đường El Cajon
(The Morning Passing on El Cajón Boulevard)


CREW:

produced, directed, edited by:
​​QUYÊN NGUYEN-LE

co-produced by:
BRIAN HU
​BENJAMIN TO
​
director of photography:
KAYLA TONG

additional cinematography:
​​QUYÊN NGUYEN-LE
​ 
sound editor:
LIEN BAO DO

SYNOPSIS:

A film that follows two Vietnamese women working in the funeral industry in a refugee hub called City Heights, San Diego: JULIE is a San Diego born child of Vietnamese refugees now running funeral homes and a cemetery. When Julie's father unexpectedly passes away, she finds herself on the other side of things... and realizes that knowing what happens behind the scenes at funeral services doesn't make the grief any more manageable. After migration, when even language is rarely passed onto the second generation, how do we pass on our spiritual traditions and modes of guiding our loved ones into the afterlife?

EXHIBITION:

November 7, 2019 @ 7PM
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
San Diego Asian Film Festival
Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center

November 12, 2019 @ 5PM
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
San Diego Asian Film Festival
Ultrastar Cinemas Mission Valley

​May 11-May 31 2020
​ONLINE
​SDAFF ONLINE: MAY MADNESS

October 22-25 2020
ONLINE
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
​
November 5-15, 2020
ONLINE
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival
​
November 15-22, 2020
​ONLINE
New Orleans Film Festival 

March 4-14, 2021
ONLINE
Seattle Asian American Film Festival
​
​May 1-31, 2021
ONLINE
Asian Pacific Virtual Showcase

The Morning Passing on El Cajón Boulevard

2016 / Narrative Short / Drama, Coming-of-Age, Hong Kong Identity

Producer: Terrence Leung & Merissa Jane Lee
Director/Cinematographer: Kayla Tong

Alison’s life in L.A. turns upside down when her family comes to visit from Hong Kong for the very first time. Stuffed into her cramped apartment, Alison finds beauty and heartache in the smallest of moments.

Home is Where the Sunsets

CREDITS:

Partners: Visual Communications
Director: Kristy Choi 
Producers: Frances Rubio & Keiko Elizabeth
Cinematographer: Kayla Tong
Editor: Sofia Chang
Herselves: Cindy Choi
Supervising Sound Editor & Re-recording Mixer: Annlie Huang
Sound Design: Gouen Everett
Sound Recordists: Bryan Sih & Justin Ricafort
Camera Assistant: Quyên Nguyen-Le
Lead Composer & Recording Engineer & Musician: Brady Waibel
Lead Composer & Musician: Jared Newmark
Musicians: Chantel Whittle, Julia Thompson & Nora Quinn

SYNOPSIS:

Who were our mothers before they became our mothers? A tribute to immigrant parents and children of diaspora, this personal hybrid documentary explores the relationship between a Korean-American filmmaker and her mother—asking universal questions of freedom, memory, and responsibility in the process.

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