Bardo(2022)

Diving Women of Jeju-do(ko)

Jeju-do is the largest of Korean islands and lies between Korea and Japan. There, for hundreds of years, women dive without breathing apparatus, to the ocean floor and collect shellfish, octopus, and urchins that they sell. The divers are in their sixties and seventies and their daughters do not want to inherit their work, lifestyle, and health problems that go with diving. As a filmmaker I was privileged to meet many of these women and dive with them. Their stories of hardship and pride confirmed my desire to record this unique and ancient tradition.

Sumbisori(ko)

Hae-jin, 29, struggles to adapt to life in Seoul and returns to her hometown of Jeju. There, she reunites with her mother, Ok-ran, and her grandmother, Kang-ja, who has spent her life as a haenyeo. Hae-jin decides to become a haenyeo, but Ok-ran strongly opposes it. The conflict between them intensifies, while Kang-ja is diagnosed with dementia.

Everglow(ko)

Everglow begins with the cute struggle of Kyung-hoon (Ji Hyun-woo), who visited Jeju to make a documentary about Jin-ok (Ko Doo-sim), a female diver. Kyunghoon’s work becomes a sincere mission for the souls buried in the deep sea and mountains.

Smugglers(ko)

During the 1970s, in Kunchon, there were women divers who were able to dive without equipment, including two best friends Choon-ja and Jin-sook, Jin-sook's brother and Hammer. They always collected seafood under water for living. But, as fewer factories started to be built near the beach, the women divers started to have trouble with what they were doing for living. Without any choice, the ship crews decided to join the smuggling business in the water to seek a way for their living. But the smuggling business in their village got too big for Jin-sook's family to handle and the peaceful village was gradually broken.

Canola(ko)

A girl who went missing after an accident returns 10 years later and reunites with her grandmother.

My Mother the Mermaid(ko)

Na-young works at a post office and is sick and tired of being around her shamefully unyielding mother and her pushover father who's excessively nice. The only thing that she can look forward to is her trip abroad in a few days. But one day, her father leaves home without any notice. Her mother doesn't care what happens to him and doesn't care to look for him. Na-young has no choice but to give up her dream trip abroad and to search for her father instead. Once she arrives at her parents' hometown, Na-young is shocked to meet someone she'd never expect, even in her dreams.

Mermaid Unlimited(ko)

Yeong-joo, a former synchronized swimming athlete goes to Jeju Island to put together a synchronized swimming team for a performance. She slowly befriends the haenyeo, or female divers, and gradually begins to fit into their way of life.

Daughter of the Sea(en)

Battling deep depression, Jaeyoun returns to her roots on the island of Marano, South Korea, to visit her family of female free fivers known as haenyeo. To her surprise, she finds a connection to nature and her ancestors that literally saves her life.

Mom, the Star, and the Sea Anemone(ko)

Lessons from Jeju(en)

Seven months pregnant and apprehensive of the effect motherhood would have on her career as a professional freediver, Kimi Werner took a trip to the island of Jeju in South Korea to meet her heroes, the haenyeo – a group of freediving and fishing women often regarded as Korea’s first working mother’s whose culture dates back centuries.

Legend of the Waterflowers(ko)

Hyun Soonjik is the oldest living resident in Jeju Island. A natural diver with good skills, she became a high rank Haenyeo at an early age and has led an astonishing career of diving for eighty-seven years. Though she looks more comfortable when she is under water than when she is at home, she quit diving in October, 2020, and goes to sea every day, missing her old life as a diver. When she does, Chae Jiae who has been disciplined by Hyun, accompanies her and looks after her. Together they head for Deulmoolyeo, a place that only Hyun can find, to see the water flowers that bloom under water.

The Last of the Sea Women(en)

On the shores of Jeju Island, a fierce group of South Korean divers fight to save their vanishing culture from looming threats.

Breathing Underwater(ko)

In Jeju Province, located off the southern coast of Korea, are the women of the sea, those who hold breath for life. These women still exist and they still dive the old way, without tanks. They go into the waters of 10- to 20-meter depth to harvest seaweed and shellfish to make a living. They make a living in the same sea, but each haenyeo’s sea of life is different. The community is divided into three tiers- Group A, B and C, based on skills and capabilities. One’s rank is determined by sum or breath. Sum, is pre-determined at birth. Therefore, sum is desired. However, the ocean is harsh. May you desire! But seek what is not yours, the ocean will devour you. Life, for these women of the sea, is about holding one’s breath, and containing and controlling one’s desire. The film is a six year record of the lives of the haenyeos in Udo, an islet in the province of Jeju, known to be the birthplace of haenyeo. It is a close look into the lives that stand on the boundary of life and death.

One For The Road(en)

After a long night at the bar, a small town bartender and her long-time customer are convinced to help a pleading mother. They embark on a mission to help her two children. In the process they confront their fears about the mysterious evil town of Salem's Lot.

Shutter(id)

Darwin, a senior photographer who consistently uses a manual camera, is shocked to discover the appearance of a woman's shadow in every photo he takes. Soon, the woman's figure appears in real life, terrorizing him. Pia, Darwin's girlfriend, decides to investigate the woman's identity. It turns out the woman is Lilies, an outstanding student who once studied at their university. When Darwin's friends die one by one, Pia is convinced this is related to a 'sin' Darwin committed in the past.

Cora(en)

Cora is set decades into the future, after a deadly mist has covered earth, effectively wiping out most of humanity. Now, we follow Cora, a woman working for an organization trying to reverse the effects of the apocalypse.

Off Limit: Rec(ja)

A documentary horror film that collects frightening images recorded by fixed-point cameras in ruins known as haunted spots. It became the scene of a tragic family suicide, and 10 cameras were set up for a year in a house that is now in ruins. What is the shocking image projected there?

Lobo(en)

In the spring of 2022, federal authorities seized a cloud account associated with an unnamed Person of Interest regarding the "Lobo" case. Those media files are finally being released to the public.