Korean arts and media group Yehyang Cultural Ministry is throwing its hat into the filmmaking arena with “The Gift,” an HD Christian dramatic feature that shoots this May and June.
“It’s a family story about a father, a daughter and a son,” said writer/director Hyup Kim. “It shows this guy getting more and more involved in the drug business and going down. He goes to jail and the court sends him to rehab, where he starts an emotional change.”
Kim wrote the script based on his own play of the same name, which was produced last fall at the Christian Heritage Academy. He also incorporated interviews he conducted last January with Korean church members in Los Angeles who had faced methamphetamine addictions in their own families.
A Columbia College alum, Kim was a director for Yehyang’s language instruction series “Hello Konglish” on Korean-language Ch. 28. He came up with the idea of a film version of “The Gift” with Yehyang president Wang K. Kim. Wang Kim signed on as executive producer.
Wang Kim is raising “The Gift’s” $100,000 budget from private investors through Win Media, the for-profit arm of Yehyang. He founded the group 10 years ago “to bridge the differences between first and second generation Korean Americans.”
Yehyang produces the performing arts and social issues series “Yehyang Broadcasting System” Mondays at 9 p.m. on Ch. 28. The group owns its own complement of donated production and post-production gear and facilities.
Yehyang also promotes concerts, dance and visual arts, all with an eye toward presenting traditional values through contemporary forms.
Interested crew can mail info to Yehyang, call Hyup Kim at 312/523-1016 or email earthina720@yahoo.com.
