The Authenticity of Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee

Julien Kim and Peter S. Lee, San Francisco, CA 5/11/19

HAPPY CLEANERS, the debut feature film from Julian Kim and Peter S. Lee made its world premiere at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, where it won the Emerging Filmmaker Award.  And rightly so. This finely observed drama of the struggles between Korean immigrant parents and their Americanized children takes a story that has been told many times, and not only finds new truths, but also unexpected depths in the old truths we thought we knew. Full interview posting closer to its release, but for now here’s a clip from when I spoke with them on May 11, 2019 during CAAM Fest here in San Francisco. The question was what they most to avoid in making the film, and what they most wanted to accomplish.