YOUIL KIM

NARRATIVE SHORT FILM

EMBRACE

Director / Producer / Writer

2026 · 14 min 26 sec · United States

A daughter and mother seated across a dining table in warm afternoon light.

The film

A year after her father’s funeral, a Korean American daughter returns home for the first time, only to find her immigrant mother has erased every trace of him and has chosen faith over memory.

Festivals & awards

  • Dallas International Film FestivalOfficial Selection · 2026Oscar®-Qualifying Festival
  • Glendale International Film FestivalWinner - Best Student Drama Short · 2026
  • Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFestOfficial Selection · 2026
  • KAFFNY Infinite CinemaOfficial Selection · 2026
  • Wyoming International Film FestivalOfficial Selection · 2026
  • Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film FestivalSemi-Finalist · 2026
  • Cindependent Film FestivalHonorable Mention · 2026

Director’s statement

After losing her father, Yeyoung holds on to memory. After losing her husband, Mikyung leans on faith and the church to get through each day. Both are ways of surviving, yet these choices become sources of misunderstanding and pain for one another. In immigrant families, the gaps created by language, culture, values, and religion often make it difficult to even speak about loss.

Rather than offering complete reconciliation, I wanted this film to leave room for a single possibility. Sitting together, eating together, and finally speaking. I believe that returning to the same table, even without full agreement or resolution, can be the first step toward continuing to live together.

Cast & Crew

Head Crew

Written and Directed by
Youil Kim
Produced by
Youil Kim / Yeji Shawn / Joeun Jang / Jungyun Shin
Director of Photography
Jonathan J. Lee
Co-Producer
Wonjun Choi
Production Designer
Joeun Jang
Edited and Colored by
Youil Kim
Original Music
Wanlun Kao

Cast

Yeyoung Lee
Hannah Kwon
Mikyung Kim
Sienna Sohn
Church Member 1
Hoja Choi
Church Member 2
Heesook Kim

Crew

First Assistant Director
Jungyun Shin
Second Assistant Director
Alejandra Cravioto
Script Supervisor
Soowan Bang
First Assistant Camera
Malcolm Taylor / Jesse Brown
Second Assistant Camera
Angel Pasos
Gaffer
Dean Symonds / George Hysmith
Best Boy Electric
Jacopo Aiello
Key Grip
Seongwon Chang
Best Boy Grip
Kateryna Lopatina
Art Director
Yeji Shawn
Production Sound Mixer and Boom Operator
Ivan Kosharnyi / Joseph Horowitz
Still Photographer
Danilo Hernandez
Graphic Design
Joeun Jang
Sound Design and Mix
Art On Records
Ringtone Sound Recording
YE ON

Special thanks

Special Thanks
Taeyeon Kim / Jeongae Kim / Insook Kim / Nick Dragon / New Heart Presbyterian Church / David Taekuen Lee / David Newman / Seungchan Kim / My family in the United States / My family in Korea