WHAT IS THE FILM ABOUT:

“Losing their country was the same as losing themselves.

By fighting for their country, they were finding themselves.” 

At 84 years old, acclaimed artist Yun Suknam’s mission is to shine a light on the forgotten stories of the women who helped shape Korea’s resistance movements.  Her goal is to paint 100 portraits of these brave women, who the artist describes as “traces of brilliant spirit.”  With the portraits as a starting point, the film focuses on 6 freedom fighters that are related to the pivotal March 1, 1919 manse demonstrations – the beginning of an uprising that would swell to include nearly 2 million ordinary civilians taking to the streets all over Joseon (Korea) to protest colonization.  

WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?

After conducting extensive research, including weekly virtual interviews with Yun Suknam, we traveled to Seoul in September 2022 and completed production with the help of a local fixer.  We filmed the artist at work in her studio and interviewed a museum curator and historian of female freedom fighters.

Now that we are in the post-production phase, we are seeking funds to complete the film.  For example, we need to write scripts, find voice actors and create animated sequences to help bring these stories to life. We are also working with an established, award-winning editor based in Honolulu, who has made women-centered films for decades.  Finally, we plan to hire a Korean musical composer to do an original soundtrack for the film that incorporates Korean musical traditions, like pansori. 

OUR CHARACTERS:

Women, who have had to exist beyond history, floating on the surface of water, inspire me with their traces of the brilliant spirit with which they lived their lives.  I am pleased when I unearth their sorrow, agony and anger out of the dark grave of history and give them shape.  Sometimes I even sense that these women dwell in my body and soul.

-Yun Suknam

Yun Suknam is a significant contemporary Korean artist who has been incredibly prolific well into her eighties.  Her works are exhibited in renowned public collections like the Tate Collection (London, England), National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Gwacheon, Korea), and Queensland Museum (Brisbane, Australia).  She has exhibited her work at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Portrait Gallery (2018) and has received multiple national awards.

The Emissary and Teacher - Kim Ran-sa was a trusted emissary and translator to Gojong, the last King of Joseon. Enroute to the League of Nations Paris Peace Conference, she was poisoned and died.  Kim Ran-sa was also the first Korean woman to obtain a degree from an American university in 1906 and on her return to Seoul, became a professor at what is now Ehwa Women’s University. There she encouraged Yu Gwan-sun, Korea’s most well-known female freedom fighter, and her classmates.

The Student Activist - Yu Gwan-sun and her fellow classmates took to the streets of Seoul to demonstrate for independence. As Yu Gwan-sun protested, her parents were shot and killed in front of her.  At the tender age of 17,  she was imprisoned and tortured for speaking out and died in prison, thus becoming known as the most well-known female martyr for Korean independence.

The Gisaeng (Courtesan) - KIM Hyang-hwa led 30 of her fellow gisaengs in the manse demonstration at the Suwon police station. Gisaengs were courtesans and deemed outcasts, but Kim Hyang-hwa used her skills as a performer to rally her compatriots to demand independence.

Additional 3 Freedom Fighters:

• The Nurse - NOH Soon-kyung trained as a nurse at Severance Hospital, where the Korean Declaration of Independence was being printed in a secret printing press. She was imprisoned with Yu Gwan-sun at the women's building within Seodaemun prison of what is now central Seoul for participating in 1919 manse demonstrations. 
• The Scholar - KIM Maria orphaned as a child, she was raised by her uncle who was a doctor at Severance Hospital.  She was caught smuggling a copy of the Declaration of Independence, tortured and tried for treason.  She was repeatedly imprisoned and died from cerebral hemorrhage from the effects of torture in 1944, a year before Korea’s liberation. 
• The Assassin - NAM Ja-hyeon took part in the March 1, 1919 movement, then fled to China where she helped the Korean independence army attempt to assassinate a high ranking colonial official. She later wrote protest letters to the League of Nations Harbin Commission using  her own blood.

WHO ARE WE?

Manoa Film & Media LLC is a minority woman owned production company headquartered in Honolulu Hawaii.  The production team for this film consisted entirely of women – director, cinematographer, editor, translator and production assistant.

TEAM:

• Alison Week - cinematographer
• Aleta Hammerich - asst. editor and cinematographer
• Jessica Jeong -  oral and subtitling translator based in Seattle
• Paula Chung - oral translator and exhibition specialist in New York City
• Riley Seo - local fixer and production asst. based in Seoul
• Soo Hyun Moon - textual translator based in Seoul
• Shirley Thompson - film editor,  based in Honolulu

WHAT DO WE NEED and WHY?

These funds will be used to bring the film to completion.  We will use the funds to create animation sequences for the individual freedom fighters and finish post-production.  

Our Post-Production team consists of :

• Shirley Thompson, established editor based in Honolulu.
• Aleta Hammerich, emerging director/producer and editor based in Honolulu.
• Jessica Jeong, subtitling translator based in Seattle.
• Lee Yoon-ok, author/poet and subject matter expert on female freedom fighters in Seoul
• Riley Seo, production assistant and oral translator in Seoul.
• Animation/Motion Graphics artist, TBD
• Finishing Editor for sound mixing and color correction, TBD