Documentary Film

My work in documentary film has focused on stories that require restraint as much as storytelling. My team and I produced a documentary about a Sudanese refugee family navigating displacement and resettlement, a project that ultimately cannot be publicly shown because of privacy and safety concerns. Choosing to withhold the film reinforced that journalism is stewardship over another’s story. I am currently producing a documentary about Nuri Steakhouse, a cultural fusion restaurant that blends Korean and American traditions, a subject that resonates personally as someone who is half Korean. The film explores how food becomes a medium for identity, migration and cultural translation. I am also working on a short PSA-style documentary centered on a water polo tournament dedicated to a player who unfortunately passed from suicide. The project focuses on awareness and remembrance, emphasizing community response to loss. Across these films, I aim to treat subjects with patience and dignity, prioritizing trust and context over speed, and using visual storytelling to document how communities carry memory, culture and grief. I have seen shocking similarities to journalism; they both have the same goal, just use different mediums to tell a story.