Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1525212
26 C I N E M O N T A G E U N I O N M A D E Harry Yoon. By Harry Yoon M y family immigrated from South Korea to the San Francisco Bay Area in the late 1970s. I often felt like an outsider, a foreigner compared to my non-Asian classmates. It didn't help that I was obsessed with television and rarely saw any Asian faces on my favorite programs. However, I do have a vivid mem- ory from fourth grade, just after playing the lead in a school musical. I was walking through a crowd of white parents and no- ticed their beaming faces staring down at me. I thought, "They don't even know me and they seem so happy with me." That was my first realization that story and per- formance could break down barriers. In high school, I had a Sony camcorder a n d d o c u m e n te d o u r ex te n d e d fa m i l y gatherings but never edited the videos. My freshman year at Williams College, we were shown a video on acquaintance rape on campuses. It was so poorly made that few people took it seriously. So when they looked for volunteers to make a new video, my friend David and I jumped at the chance. It was an opportunity to use the cameras and editing equipment of our tiny media center. We developed a documentary-style video, blending real-world testimonies with reenactments. Back then, the video editing decks required you to pre-plan and lay down your edits cut by cut. We spent countless hours worrying over every cut. I was ab- sorbed in a technical and creative process that felt more compelling than my classes. A year later, when I saw Steven Okazaki accept the Oscar for Best Documentary Short Subject, it blew my mind. There were Asian American filmmakers out there who could win Oscars! It felt like kismet that he was based in San Francisco, so I wrote to him and spent an incredible summer in- terning on a feature he wrote and directed. Seeing that he had built a viable filmmaking NEVER TOO LATE HOW FATE LURED A TECH WORKER BACK TO FILMMAKING career pursuing documentaries and fea- tures made my daydream feel tangible. I spent an exchange semester at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts studying f ilm production. After graduating from college, I spent time in Seoul, Korea, steeping my s e l f i n t h e c u l t u re s o I c o u l d w r i te bi-lingual screenplays. While there, I didn't find work in film but in computer software as a script writer for programs that taught kids English. When I returned from my sojourn in Korea, I found my parents had fallen on hard times. I grew up wanting to study hard, go to college and land a well-paying job to honor their sacrifice and be able to provide for them. So, even though filmmaking had become my passion, I found "practical" work in San Francisco's exploding tech industry — first as a project manager in software then as a founding member of a startup. Nearing the age of 30, I had a con- do, a six-figure salary and stock options. But I was deeply unsatisfied. I felt as if I had lost my identity and began taking filmmak- ing classes. My final project in these classes was a documentary portrait of Ed Gong, a 75 year- old piano mover whose work and undying interest in learning new skills — including modern dance and opera singing — kept him vibrant and young. Ed reminded me that it's never too late to pursue your dreams. I sold my condo, left my software career and moved to Los Angeles to pursue filmmaking, with a focus on editing. Soon, I was an unpaid intern making lunch runs to California Chicken Café, but I was happier than ever. I was finally on the right path. S e a r c h i n g t o f i n d a c o m m u n i t y o f filmmakers, I stumbled upon the Project Involve Fellowship at Film Independent. I was accepted as an editing fellow, and the legendary editor Stephen Mirrione, ACE agreed to be my mentor. He offered sage advice, such as how to project competence in an interview, when and when not to speak up, and how to cultivate resilience in the face of a constantly uncertain future. This wisdom has served me my entire career. Soon after, I assisted with pre-produc- tion videos on "Lords of Dogtown." I was able to help editor Nancy Richardson, ACE on a test shoot and then got hired as an apprentice editor and joined MPEG. While continuing to edit shorts, documentaries and low budget indie features on the side — often for little to no pay — I worked my way up the union ladder. I was helped by countless editors and assistants to rise from the PA desk to the editor's chair. I want to pay it forward and to mentor the next generation of editors — especially those that long to see filmmaking break down cultural barriers and contrib- ute to the larger American story. ■ ACE Eddie nominee and winner Harry Yoon, ACE is a picture editor who feels privileged to have edited projects like "Minari," "BEEF," and Marvel's "Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings." He hopes his story can inspire the next generation of diverse storytellers. He can be reached at: alsoharry@gmail.com.