ADG Perspective

7 2 P E R S P E C T I V E | M A Y / J U N E 2 0 2 1 Tulsa was very already summery when I arrived at the airport in early June, and I was instantly alarmed because I realized that we, not only the Art Department but also the shooting crew, were really going to work in a land of hardship. Much like the characters in Minari, we would be spending the next couple months working in a mobile home without air conditioning or on the vast, shadeless, sunbaked farmland in the middle of nowhere in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Just a few weeks back, I wasn't even certain if I really wanted to work on another two-million-dollar indie feature until I had a meeting with Christina Oh, the producer of Minari from Plan B Entertainment. The story spoke to me as an immigrant; however, I was not sure if it would resonate with a general audience who didn't share a similar journey. That concern dissolved quickly after a meeting with Christina. There was no doubt in Christina's mind that Minari was a universal and compelling family story that deserved to be brought to life for all to see. Christina also truly believed it was crucial to find a rdtin Designer as amiliar it Korean culture, as Minari tells a survival story of a Korean family in a foreign land. And it became very clear to me that Christina was sincerely searching for someone who understood the lives and the daily struggles of a Korean family in 1980s rural Arkansas. As a Production Designer, I don't usually project my personal life experiences onto my projects, but Minari was special because I shared a very similar childhood with the seven-year-old character, David, as a Korean child growing up in the '80s. ing a n te first m meeting it Lee Isaac Chung, the director of Minari, as I went through my presentation, he kindly started to share his family story and childhood experience with me, which was very thrilling and gave me some assurance that my concept design and the director's vision were starting to entwine. I m m i g r a n t R o o t s i n A m e r i c a M I N A R I B Y Y O N G O K L E E , P R O D U C T I O N D E S I G N E R W I T H H A L E Y H O , A R T D I R E C T O R A

• 0C1_ADG MAY-JUNE 2021