Alumna Bora Kim ‘11 recently released her first feature film, House of Hummingbird. Kim is the writer, director, and co-producer of the film, which had its world premiere this month at the Busan International Film Festival, a major Asian film festival. House of Hummingbird has been met with praise and won the Audience Award as well as the NETPAC (Network for the Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award.
House of Hummingbird follows a story of a young woman coming of age. In 1994 14-year-old Eun-hee is the youngest of three children, sibling to a difficult middle sister and an overachieving but violent older brother. Eun-hee's parents run a small rice cake store and provide little structure for their three children, instead spending time quarelling and keeping their business afloat. As Eun-hee deals with the many relationships and pressures around her, summer wears on. Current events including the World Cup, the death of North Korean leader Kim II-sung and the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge leave Eun-hee feeling alone and in flux. Eun-hee dates a local schoolboy and gets up to mischief with her best friend until she meets her new Chinese language teacher, an adult who finally sees her for who she is.
House of Hummingbird received the Pitch & Catch Megabox Grand Award from Seoul International Women's Film Festival and received production support from Korean Film Council, Seoul Film Commission and Seongnam Cultural Foundation. It was also selected for IFP Narrative Lab and received post production support from Sundance Film Festival.
