Liz Chae won the gold medal at the Student Academy Awards.  Yes, that’s the Academy Awards as in the Oscars but it’s an award ceremony for film students and their works.  Liz Chae won the top prize for documentaries for her 19 minute film, “The Last Mermaids.”  We interviewed Liz Chae during the Tribeca Film Festival and she was a remarkable person who opened up to us about the making of her documentary and the very personal story that occurred during filming.  We wanted to honor Liz by sharing her story again.

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Liz Chae almost made us cry and it wasn’t because of her documentary The Last Mermaids.  We interviewed Liz at a tea house in the Little Tokyo section (near St. Marks) of New York after the initial screening of her film.  We went through the normal course of questions about her film and how she turned it into a reality.  However, it was the answer to the final question that gripped us and made us want to hug Liz afterwards.  The simple question was, “What was the one thing that changed you when you look back at filming?”  What we discovered was that the story behind the filming was equally as compelling.  This is Liz’s response in her own words.

It was difficult to go to Korea and make a film, not just because of my language limitations and not because of woman (Haeynos) who didn’t accept me or didn’t accept outsiders.   For the most part they were nice but they were not 100% giving; they were very closed.   The other thing was that my mom came.  I think when a parent or someone that you’re close with is present, they’re always questioning and always asking if what you’re filming is good enough.  Having that pressure was something that is hard because some of the questions from her and the Haenyos were “Why do you want to be a filmmaker? What is this doing for your life?  Why aren’t you getting married and having kids?  Are these things going to make you happy?”  I just wanted them to be quiet and let me shoot my film.  But they would keep asking and saying “tell us.”   So eventually my mother told me that I was a rude Korean-American and that I spoke to much and that my manners were terrible.  There was so much cultural translation, and it wasn’t working out.  At that point, the Haeynos wanted the production team out.  They treated us like a news crew.  They said, “You got what you wanted and why are you still here?”  And so I asked my mom to fix it.  But my mom’s response was that “You don’t understand and that it’s broken and we can’t go back.  We had crossed the line.” And she said “You’re not a good Korean because sometimes you do this to me and sometimes you break my line.”   And then all of a sudden we went into a mother and daughter discussion of crossing the line.  Finally, it came back to us and it became our drama.  It circled back to “Why did I go to film school?  Am I good enough?  Is this what happiness is?  Will this be my career.  What is the purpose of life?”  It became to much for me and so one night I packed up all my stuff and I said “I’m done.  Whatever you need to do, I’m done.”  I just packed my stuff and went to sleep.  My mom was the quietest she had been.  It had been days of us arguing and the Haenynos would be there listening to us.  The story turns.  We were filming them initially and then all of a sudden they were watching us.  As a community they came together and came back into the room and they offered us sweet potatoes and duk and they said “We’re so sorry.  We didn’t realize how much harm this would do to the mother and daughter.  We’ll do anything you want us to do.  Come diving with us.  We’ll do the interviews.”

So how about the actual documentary?  The Last Mermaids won the “Special Jury Mention” award at the Tribeca Film Festival.  Though it’s only 19 minutes, the film unveils a world that 99% of Korean-Americans would not know about. Ms. Chae does a wonderful job bringing out the story and history of these women who’s tribe will soon be extinct. What is fascinating is that in less than 20 minutes, the story of the Haenyos ends up becoming a metaphor of Korean history.

Generation after generation, the women of Jeju Island have survived by becoming Haenyos (women sea divers). Director Liz Chae spent months living with the chief of one of the last remaining Haenyo tribes. For 2,000 years, the Haenyos of Jeju have fought men, governments, and armies to protect their right to make a living from the sea. Now they want the tradition to stop. These are The Last Mermaids.

Related posts:

1. The Story Behind “The Last Mermaids” Liz Chae almost made us cry and it wasn’t because...
2. The Last Mermaids at the Tribeca Film Festival Liz Chae’s short documentary, “The Last Mermaids” will be showing...
3. The Last Mermaids Chosen for the Telluride Film Festival The Last Mermaids was chosen for the Telluride Film Festival,...
4. Closing Curtain on the Tribeca Film Festival We just returned from the Tribeca Film Festival after party...
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