
This short documentary provides a portrait of Chuwar Park, a still active and unbelievably vibrant 82-year-old free-diver from Jeju Island, South Korea. Examining her daily routine as well as her past, Park sheds light on the unique matriarchal culture that hunts for ocean game.
Date: Saturday, February 7, 12:00PM
Location: Held Auditorium, 304 Barnard Hall
Filmmakers Dean Peterson (Stop Telling Women to Smile); Leslie von Pless (Flying Solo), and Rachel Goldberg (Muted, Rosita Lopez for President) will join the audience following the Shorts Program.
Filmmaker Bios:
East Coast based filmmaker, Kevin John Sawicki, gained experience and strong knowledge of his field through a wide array of roles including camera operating, directing, editing, and color correcting. Throughout the 70s and 80s, his parents often interacted with the Haenyeo.
Alex Vartan Igidbashian is a native of Philadephia whose specialties during production include directing, camera operating, and sound production. Along with his work as a producer, and director, Alex was responsible for all of the production sound during the filming of Haenyeo: Women of the Sea. Alex also photographed to document both the divers and the filmmakers throughout the journey.
Throughout the pre-production process of Haenyeo, Daye Jeong served as the production manager. With past experience on Jeju Island and extensive knowledge of Korean language and history, Daye served as the primary translator between natives of Jeju and the team. During post-production, Daye translated hours of footage and explored proper strategy to market the film.