To show our appreciation and kick off for our 10th annual festival we would like to warm you up with our Opening Shorts section!

Here are the following premieres, with all five filmmakers in attendance for Q&A:

MY FIRST LOVE (USA, 2016, 23") - BROOKLYN PREMIERE
dir. Sun Park

Old Sunwoo visits his high school after 25 years of graduation. There, he encounters his memory and his first love.

FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE!

BATTLE OF WILLS (USA, 2015, 9") - NEW YORK PREMIERE

dir. David No

An American businessman is woken up to find himself in a dark forgotten place with his hands chained above his head. He is wet and bloodied and disorientated. From the darkness, a menacing deep voice snarls at him in Korean, demanding information about his true identity. Let the battle of Wills begin!

FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE!

DISGRACEFUL BLUE (USA, 2016, 10") - WORLD PREMIERE
dir. Young Joo Lee

A daughter with blue eyes is born to an Asian woman. The newborn’s family neglects her for being different, and she finds her way to deal with the conflict. The story depicts the journey of a heroine who is “the other” in a conforming society. She becomes part of the majority by hiding her otherness only to realize that in the end, her inner “blueness” won’t die, but it will only be born again in another form, in another generation.

*In Competition for Best Third Culture Short

FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE!

PRINCESS EUN HWA (CHINA, 2016, 38") - WORLD PREMIERE
dir. David Zhang

Princess Eun Hwa is a story about an ancient Korean young princess who constantly falls in love with princes from different kingdoms of her fantasies. Whereas in reality, she is forced by her evil uncle to be a prostitute with immoral men from different countries. The relationship between her and her uncle reflects Stockholm syndrome. In addition, It is a dark fairy tale with lots of metaphor and symbolism. In the end, the story of this girl will touch the hearts of audiences because of her tragic life experiences.

*In Competition for Best Third Culture Short

FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE!

THE SWEETENING (USA, 2015, 15") - NEW YORK PREMIERE
dir. Grace Rowe

Sadie, a lonely and depressed woman takes part in the beta testing of an augmented reality program and meets a man named Jack in a florist shop. Desperate to find out if he’s a real person or just an avatar, Sadie uses the program to discover the truth, which leads to the destruction of her life as she knows it.

FILMMAKER IN ATTENDANCE!