Meet the Directing Duo Dream Team of Chris and Sarah Rhoads

Husband and wife duo behind We Are The Rhoads on working together, how they met and the first projects they worked on

Chris and Sarah Rhoads are the husband and wife team behind We Are The Rhoads. Soon after meeting in college, Chris and Sarah saw how their unique set of talents and vision worked to complement one another in their creative endeavors. Working as storytellers in the filmmaking & photographic realm for over a decade, the Rhoads use their visual medium to explore humanity, the world around them and the sense of wonder that ignites. The Rhoads have great respect and passion for what goes into creating the narrative-driven, honest and very human imagery they have come to be known for. The Rhoads currently resides in Los Angeles, California with their three sons.

Q> How did you two meet?

Chris> It was our Freshman year of college and I happened to see Sarah across the student union amongst probably 1000 people. I asked a buddy who she was as she was talking to a mutual friend. The rest is history.

Sarah> We met in college when we were both freshmen. The affinity was very real and we both fell very fast.


Q> How did you start working together? Were you ‘put’ together or did you proactively decide you wanted to do something together? How long have you known each other and how long have you been working together?

Chris> Midway through college once we started dating we began to work on various projects.  It started at first as various homework assignments, but that then grew to creative projects and eventually a life together.  We have now spent more time married and working together than we have apart.

Sarah> We started working together in a very organic capacity. At first, it started in college before we were married. I was a journalism major and I worked for my college newspaper. I was sent out to do stories on the local bands sometimes and I would always bring my camera and also grab images to go with my stories.  Chris was making a living playing bass at the time and played with a lot of different bands and musicians. Turns out they need band photos and we’d concept things together, and those were the earliest stages of our collaborations.  We always loved dreaming together and have always shared a vision for life that was very simpatico.  

Fast forward a handful of years, after Chris got off the road of touring for a few years and we saw that Chris’s knack for creativity via the means of high level problem-solving and technical execution, coupled with my vision and love for the more human elements of storytelling, worked to tell compelling stories together, and we are weirdos that can spend copious amounts of time together and still love one another ;). He’s my best friend and I think he’s the smartest greatest person I know.


Q> What were your first impressions of each other – and have they changed?

Chris> I was immediately smitten by Sarah. She was the most interesting person I had met with these huge dreams that I was immediately drawn in.  She was kind and cool but she did her own thing. If it was fashion or music, she always had her perspective, rarely apologizing for a challenging or unpopular point of view, and I think that was so incredibly refreshing and attractive. The fact that she is beautiful is a lovely bonus, but it was her clear-as-a-bell certainty in terms of what she liked and disliked and her view of the world that struck me and hooked me. I was immediately a fan and just knew that I wanted to be alongside her.   

Sarah> That he was smart as a whip, highly talented, and he struck me as deep--a philosopher of sorts, creative, a little outside the box--and I knew from the jump he could challenge me, which I gravitated to. My first impressions are pretty accurate to this day; if anything they’ve just expanded and the life we have created together has surprised me in some ways. I knew we would do amazing things together, but sometimes I stop and look at the life we’ve built, how we’ve been able to travel the world doing something we love, the house we’ve created together in LA, the three amazing sons we have together, and I have to pinch myself. It’s a big full life and I don't know that I would have imagined THIS when we met at a state college in the middle of small-town Oklahoma.Q> What was the first project you worked on together? How was that process?

Chris> We have been working together since such a young age that I don’t even truly remember what our first project was. I do remember our first large advertising campaign, which was a job for Sony in the mid-2000s.  

Sarah> In college some collaborations with musicians etc.

Q> Why do you think you complement each other?

Chris> We have always complemented each other well, Sarah being the heart and emotion behind our work, and me sorting out the technical details. It’s a head-and-heart that I have always loved and felt thankful for.

Sarah> Chris is the head and I am the heart of things. I’ve always loved the quote “The heart will tell you what. The mind will tell you how. The heart is the map, the mind is the compass.”  That is very much our dynamic in business and in life a lot of times. I lead with intuition, he leads with calculation, but we have a shared creative vision and a way that we like things to look and feel that’s shared so that head-and-heart serve to breathe life into that vision.


Q> Is there anything that can frustrate you about each other? Or that you disagree on? 

Chris> I can tend to be very data-driven and fact-focused, which can drive Sarah crazy when dealing with subjective opinions on creative matters that can’t be boiled down to facts and figures and sometimes are matters of feel and tone. It’s that balance though that I believe pushes our work.

Sarah> Chris likes to move slowly and methodically, thinking through things and exploring them to their fullest extent. I respect it. However, being a decisive person, sometimes it takes longer than I want. I process from intuition, I am quite decisive, and I move rather fast, so sometimes our pacing can be “off”. But we’ve learned such shorthand in communication and how to better respect each of our processes over the 16+ years of being and working together.


Q> How do you approach creative disagreement? ( e.g. Do you like to keep emotion out of it, or is that emotion important? Do you have ‘rules of engagement?’ Or do you find you agree on everything?)

Chris> We rarely have major creative disagreements, and that’s primarily because we do have different strengths.  Because of that, when something falls into that area of expertise we tend to defer to one another’s perspective. This doesn’t mean we don’t challenge those ideas constantly, but after over 15 years of working on large campaigns, we know what works for us.

Sarah> We respect one another’s thoughts, opinions and approaches. I think trust is ultimately at the heart of it. I trust Chris (bar none!) and he trusts me, which means we take the time to listen and value each other’s perspectives and usually come to the best conclusion because of that. 

Q> What is the collaboration that you’re most proud of? If you pick different ones, why do you think that is? 

Chris> Probably not the answer this interview intended, but our life together.  From moving from Oklahoma to Seattle to Los Angeles to now having three children.  I believe it’s been our greatest and the collaboration I am most proud of.

Sarah> Our family! Our three beautiful sons!


Q> What are the benefits of having a creative partner or regular collaboration in the industry?

Chris> Sharing perspective, as we know this industry is ever-changing and unique.  To have someone that truly knows the nuance of different projects, goals, work relationships, etc. allows one to not feel like an island.  We can truly discuss, plan, and achieve more efficiently.

Sarah> A truly DEEP level of UNDERSTANDING on multiple levels, what a day looks like, the demands of a project, the toll creative output can take, and also the joys that come from that same well.


Q> Tell us about a recent project that involved some interesting creative challenges that you overcame together.

Chris> At the end of 2021 we had an international job that was shooting in Mexico City.  With COVID there were unique quarantine requirements with traveling internationally.  We had back-to-back jobs that made the logistics somewhat of a nightmare.  Thankfully, since there were two of us, we were able to split up.  I went and was on set in Mexico City, while Sarah connected via Zoom and remote directed while I operated the camera and oversaw things on site.  

Sarah> We did a multi-day job in New York that had both directing and stills components, a very large cast and a lot of heavy lifting, we had an A crew and a B crew and were in constant communication with one another even though one of us was directing in Manhattan and the other was getting the scenes in Brooklyn. Since we typically work in tandem it required some unique problem solving, but we worked it all out! We always do!


Q> What or who inspires you and your work - another creative duo perhaps?

Chris> At this point, I would say our friends, family, kids, and life.  I believe our work is known for its human element and showing an interesting but honest version of reality.  The best version of our world but not in an overly aspirational glossy way.  I think studying and being present with those we love is what continues to inspire our work and refine it.


Q> Do you enjoy socializing together outside of work? If so, what do you get up to?

Chris> We have been married for close to 15 years now, and so it’s an understatement to say we enjoy socializing together outside of work.  When we aren’t working or creating together we love to spend time with our 3 boys, most likely in nature whether skiing or at the beach.

Sarah> I love travel and seeing new places together and with our family. We’re pretty outdoorsy and active. 

Q> What have you learned from each other?

Chris> One thing I truly love and admire about Sarah is her genuine and deep love for people.  She has increased my empathy for others and an ability to be less focused on being technically correct, and instead to zoom out and see how something feels.  

Sarah> I have learned so much from Chris. He is a deep well of knowledge and depth of insight. I’ve learned how to be more diplomatic, patient and empathetic to the needs of others.

Link to original article: https://www.lbbonline.com/news/meet-the-directing-duo-dream-team-of-chris-and-sarah-rhoads

Mutt Film Taps Emily Friendship of Newly-Launched Commonwealth For East Coast Representation

Production company Mutt Film, headed by EPs and owners  Beth George and Shannon Lords-Houghton, has brought on Emily Friendship of the newly-opened firm Commonwealthfor East Coast representation. Friendship launched Commonwealth Reps in Fall 2021 to facilitate a collective of highly-established industry partners, joining forces under one umbrella ethos of inclusivity and staying ahead of the creative curve.

Notes George, “We are so excited for the opportunity to partner with Emily as she launches Commonwealth. Successful professional relationships are always a mixture of shared vision, chemistry and work ethic.  We felt an instant connection with her and know she will be a huge asset as we expand and grow Mutt.”

Adds Friendship, “I am honored to partner with a company as well known for its talent and production capabilities as it is for its values and integrity. Championing Mutt Film’s future growth and success is a role I embrace both wholly and passionately.”

Friendship leverages her 15-year career in feature film production and sales for Commonwealth. She held an esteemed post as VP of International Sales with Inferno Films before segueing to advertising. As a consulting rep for firms The Family and Moustache consecutively, she collaborated with company principals to lock down relationships with top-tier clients the likes of RSA Films, Supply&Demand and Believe Media, among others. Upon the launch of Commonwealth, Friendship connected with George and Lords-Houghton and cemented their working relationship with a shared love for Mutt Film’s exemplary talent roster.

The signing comes on the heels of Mutt Film’s Amazon Original documentary series “Always Jane”, premiering November 12 via Amazon Prime Video. Mutt Film produced the documentary during COVID-19 lockdown, directed by Jonathan C. Hyde, who co-Executive Produced along with Union Editorial. Mutt Film spent a year and a half documenting the compelling project, culminating in a production, editorial and distribution partnership with Amazon Prime.

About Mutt Film

Mutt Film found its company name — and its mission — in the telling of multicultural and diverse stories. Since 2016, this new breed of female-owned production company has taken a multidisciplinary approach to film production, bringing cinematic high production values to both long-form and short-form content. Mutt embraces inclusivity, taking pride in creating content around social issues and promoting eco-responsibility in the film industry. As a WBENC-certified female-owned business, Mutt strives to promote equality in the workplace.

Link to original article: https://www.adforum.com/news/mutt-film-taps-emily-friendship-of-newly-launched-commonwealth-for-east-coast-representation

https://www.lbbonline.com/news/mutt-film-taps-emily-friendship-of-newly-launched-commonwealth-for-east-coast-representation

The New York Times Writes About Always Jane

‘Always Jane’ Is Part of a New Generation of Trans Documentaries

For decades, films about transgender people tended to be sensationalistic. A newer crop is more celebratory — and opening doors for its young subjects.

Jane Noury, the focus of a new docu-series, “Always Jane,” said she believed the director “really wanted to tell a story where a family just shows their love and acceptance of their trans child.” Credit...Tonje Thilesen for The New York Times

In the first part of the documentary series “Always Jane,” Jane Noury, a high school student in suburban New Jersey, hangs out with friends, contemplates college — maybe the School of Visual Arts? — and works at the local Panera. She dreams of being a director. Near the end of Part 1, Jane also learns that she will have to miss commencement; it falls on the same day as her gender confirmation surgery.

There’s talk of anti-transgender bullying, but not a lot. In that episode, she also shops for a prom dress and plans a trip to Los Angeles, where she is to compete in an international competition for transgender models — the first of its kind.

“I’m not saying it was all happy rainbows and everything,” Jane said in a recent video interview. But she believed the series’s director, Jonathan Hyde, “really wanted to tell a story where a family just shows their love and acceptance of their trans child.”

Jane, center, with her younger sister, Mae, left, and her mother, Laura, in a scene from the series, much of which is shot in the Noury home.

Premiering Friday on Amazon Prime Video, the four-part series is among a crop of recent TV documentaries that skew toward the celebratory over the sensational, featuring younger transgender subjects who, unlike their predecessors of decades past, have the terminology and understanding to describe what they’re going through, and are growing up at a time when more viewers have been exposed to transgender people and the issues they face.

The documentaries, which include films like “Transhood” (about four transgender children growing up in Kansas City) and “Little Girl” (a portrait of an 8-year-old transgender French girl), both from 2020, reflect a changing culture that allows for deeper and more nuanced explorations of their subjects — even as the films themselves contribute to those cultural changes.

“When you look at the history of trans documentaries, it started with this subculture perspective on trans people, like, ‘Look at this weird corner of the world nobody knows about,’” said TJ Billard, a communications professor at Northwestern and the founding executive director of the Center for Applied Transgender Studies, in Chicago. “Then it moved into highly medicalized documentaries about the ‘scientific wonders of gender conversion.’”

Avery Jackson, who began filming “Transhood” when she was 7, went on to became the first transgender person to appear on the cover of National Geographic, in 2016.

And now? More and more of them, like “Always Jane,” tell stories of determined and immensely likable transgender children or teens who face adversity — from bullying to bathroom wars — and beat the odds. Many of the documentaries, some filmed nearly a decade ago when their subjects were very young, have created opportunities for their subjects since.

“Hollywood is much more willing to take a risk on somebody with a public profile,” Billard said. “So I think this pivot is, in some ways, a way for trans people who do emerge into the public eye through this documentary form to capitalize on it.”

“Always Jane” got its start in early 2020, when Hyde was thinking about creating a short film centered on the transgender modeling contest in which Jane was set to compete. After meeting Jane and her mother in the run-up to the event, however, Hyde decided to put the focus squarely on the Nourys.

“I remember my mom was crying a lot, and then I started crying,” Jane said. “It was a very emotional first meeting.”

Noury has appeared in fashion magazines and in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty fashion show, in Los Angeles. She is currently a student at the School of Visual Arts, in Manhattan.

Over the course of the series, we see Jane finish a senior year upended by the pandemic and make friends with other contestants in Los Angeles. (“I didn’t have a lot of trans friends in Sparta,” she said of her hometown.) Otherwise, much of the series is filled with scenes of a loving family, including Jane’s father, David; her older sister, Emma, who is an intensely protective Coast Guard cadet; and her younger sister, Mae, who is struggling with the thought of having Jane leave home for college. Many scenes were filmed, diary-style, by Jane on a hand-held camera.

Documentaries about the transgender experience weren’t always this way. Early examples include “Queens at Heart” (1967), an exploitation film complete with creepy, leering interviewer, and “Let Me Die a Woman” (1978), which promised viewers “all true! all real!” scenes of sex reassignment surgery. In these early films, the subjects were, not surprisingly, often anonymous.

Today’s subjects are often anything but anonymous, and many have moved beyond the documentaries they appeared in to pursue opportunities as actors, writers and activists.

Jazz Jennings, who at 11 was the subject of the 2011 documentary “I Am Jazz,” went on to write a children’s book and a memoir and currently stars in a TLC reality series, also titled “I Am Jazz.” Avery Jackson, who began filming “Transhood” in 2014, when she was 7, became the first transgender person to appear on the cover of National Geographic in 2016 and wrote a children’s book, “It’s Okay to Sparkle,” the next year.

Since appearing in the 2016 HBO documentary “The Trans List,” Nicole Maines, now 24, has done a TEDx Talk, starred in a vampire film (“Bit”), and in 2018 debuted in the CW series “Supergirl,” which wrapped up its six-season run on Nov. 9. Maines played Nia Nal, also known as Dreamer, the first transgender superhero on TV.

“The first of anything is special,” she said, adding that she was “consumed by this character. I have a relationship with her that borders on the unhealthy.”

Zoey Luna, who appeared in the HBO documentaries “Raising Zoey” (2016) and “15: A Quinceañera Story” (2017), went on to land roles in “Pose” (2018-21), “The Craft: Legacy” (2020), and in September, the film version of “Dear Evan Hansen.” She said she viewed the documentary experience — being on set, working in front of cameras — as valuable job training.

“Being in the documentaries was definitely an avenue for me to accomplish that goal of becoming an actress,” she said. “I knew that they would create some visibility for me, and they definitely helped me feel like my dreams were achievable.”

“I do feel like there are more opportunities for transgender actresses now,” she added. “And I feel like the opportunities are going to be endless within a matter of years.”

The documentaries don’t sugarcoat the experiences of their subjects, even as the films celebrate their victories and families. In “The Trans List,” Maines recalls having staffers at her middle school assigned to keep her from using the girl’s bathroom. In “Raising Zoey,” Luna and her mother describe how Luna was bullied by classmates who would pull her hair and call her names.

In “Always Jane,” Jane recalls being outed at a school assembly by a student who thought that transitioning was a sin. Her sister Emma, who was also at the assembly, wasn’t having it — and said so. For the film, Jane went back to the auditorium to recount the story.

“I thought I was over what happened, but psychologically it was a lot for me to be back in that situation,” she said. “I’m just really grateful I had Emma there to be my advocate, and to just be there for me.”

Since graduating high school, Jane has expanded her horizons and community. She has appeared in fashion magazines and walked the runway at Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty fashion show, in Los Angeles.

Currently a student at the School of Visual Arts, in Manhattan, Jane is studying film and hopes to try some acting. (“I’d love to do a horror film,” she said, “maybe playing a psycho killer or something.”) She also hopes to do more modeling. Her mother, Laura, hopes she will, too.

“She’s a beautiful model,” Laura said. “And she struts her stuff down the runway. It’s amazing to watch the confidence that’s in her, because I look back and I remember the scared boy who wouldn’t come out of his room.”

Link to Original Article: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/arts/television/transgender-documentaries-always-jane.html

Mutt's Marc Corominas Shares the Work That Made Him

Mutt Films Marc shares some of his favorite tracks, his work with Audi and what has shaped his career.

Marc was born on the last day of the year in Barcelona. One night, this young boy gets up and turns on the TV. What initially seems like a children’s film, unfolds into a story about mafia, assassinations, drugs and whores. “Once Upon a Time in America” by Sergio Leone, will leave a mark on this boy for life. 

Years later he studied film at the University of Ramon Llull. In 2004 his personal project Resized04 was selected for the prestigious RESfest film festival in New York. After that Marc became a member of a directors’ collective in Barcelona where he experimented with new forms of expression.

Now, in his solo career, he creates work that is real and engaging. Cinematic but intimate. His flair for authentic and unexpected visual storytelling is evident in his work and has made him the go-to director for clients as diverse as Audi, Toyota, Coca-Cola, PlayStation and Foundation Against Drug Addiction.

The ad/music video from my childhood that stays with me…

Alaska “Abracadabra (La bola de cristal)'. It’s a television program that marked many children of my generation in my country.


The ad/music video/game/web platform that made me want to get into the industry…

Aphex Twin 'Come to Daddy' or Bjork 'All Is Full of Love', directed by Chris Cunningham, left a big impact on me. RESFest, Onedotzero, and +81 Magazine were great inspirations in my early days when I was in college.


The creative work that I keep revisiting…

I review Jim Jarmusch's filmography and get excited and cry with social content films such as 'Brassed Off', directed by Mark Herman, or 'Deprisa, Deprisa', by Carlos Saura. I ee-listen to Pixies or The Feelies from time to time. Everything related to Tomato Design Collective, from their graphic design works and prints to the music of Underworld--an artistic collective that marked me a lot in the ’90s.


My first professional project…

Resized’04 film was selected in the prestigious RESFest Festival in NY. Even though it was a personal project, it was the project that allowed me to start my professional career. 


The piece of work that made me so angry that I vowed to never make anything like *that*…

What a difficult question! Not to mention other jobs, I remember I was commissioned to do a campaign for a brand that involved humanitarian action: collecting seeds to plant in Africa. In the production process, I discovered there was no plan for what to do with those seeds once they arrived in Africa. So, I decided to get out of the project. To this day, I don't think I have participated in any project that stirs my conscience.


The piece of work that still makes me jealous…

Too many projects to name them all here! Any Hiro Murai music video, any Megaforce work, any new season of the 'Ozark' or 'Maid' series, could start the beginning of a long list...


The creative project that changed my career…

I guess, for what it stands for, the Audi A3 'Tick Tock' work. But I think that, for its challenging nature, the documentary piece 'In the Footsteps of Strelka', also commissioned by Audi, was the most important.

The work that I’m proudest of…

Two true stories more than one hundred years apart but with one thing in common: football.

'El Clasico' for Cupra is the true story of the first football match in the history of F.C. Barcelona and Real Madrid. I’m a big supporter of Barça…

Women's World Cup FIFA was filmed with real football players recreating their own reality: players who take care of their children or work in a denim factory, then at the same time are selected by their countries to participate in the World Cup.

I was involved in this and it makes me cringe…

When you see it, you will understand. I helmed a short for the musician Raül Refree with the Mancunian artist Blackhaine for the PRSNT project: 

The recent project I was involved in that excited me the most…

Because of my personal involvement in these kinds of projects, my last two music videos for Ferran Palau “Univers” and Love of Lesbian “Los Irrompibles”.

Link to original article: https://www.lbbonline.com/news/the-work-that-made-me-marc-corominas

‘It’s not just about being trans’: Always Jane is a moving, intimate portrait of late adolescence

Jane Noury goes from 18 to 20, undergoing gender-affirming surgery along with everyday rituals of youth, in a striking new Amazon Prime series


Jane Noury’s coming of age journey is similar to many suburban American teens: anchored by family and friends but impatient to expand beyond a small town, selfies and insecurities and confidence, so much incipient energy, waiting to begin. As captured in Always Jane, a four-part series premiering on Amazon Prime Video this week, Noury’s life in 2019 and 2020 was marked by the classic emotional rollercoaster of friendships, family and figuring out who you are – on top of the upheaval of the pandemic and alongside the journey and challenges of growing up trans in America.

The series, directed by Jonathan C Hyde with Noury as an executive producer, embeds in both mundane and remarkable moments in Noury’s life between the ages of 18 and 20, a time in which she graduated high school, began modeling, weathered quarantine, underwent gender-affirming surgery, and moved away from home in Sparta, New Jersey, to college in New York City. It’s also an intimate, at times unvarnished, portrait of a close-knit, affectionate family, one committed to supporting Jane and learning with her.

There’s moments of deep vulnerability – Noury’s parents, David and Laura, discussing how they came to understand their child’s gender dysphoria, oldest sister Emma remembering her fury at a school bully targeting Jane – and plenty of nuclear family staples: ribbing at the dinner table, bickering, battles over homework. But “we all saw the bigger picture in the fact that we wanted to show a very positive, loving and accepting environment, and what that could be like for a transgender person specifically, and how that could relate to anyone else,” Jane Noury told the Guardian. “It’s not just about being trans.”

The series offers a compassionate and understated window into a late adolescent experience still massively underrepresented on-screen and under siege in several states. At a time when a Terf (trans-exclusive radical feminist) belief system that polices trans bodies and folds transphobia into warped, exclusive feminism continues to go mainstream, when Netflix stands by a Dave Chappelle special laced with transphobic jokes, and when state legislatures pursue a persistent and evolving assault on trans rights from bathrooms to sports, Always Jane offers light in the hyper-specific: one loving, supportive family with a trans daughter, figuring things out as they go along.

The hostile context occasionally filters into the Nourys’ household – a news clip about Trump’s ban on transgender participation in the military, recollections of the difficulty the Nourys faced getting Jane’s hormone treatments covered by insurance – but is not explicitly debated or discussed at length; there’s not much to say when the stakes are so personal and the answers so obvious. “I hope people see this isn’t a political issue, this is a human rights, civil rights issue,” said Hyde. “It shouldn’t be one side versus the other – if you watch this story and you meet Jane Noury and you empathize with this, how can you deny her of everything that your kids have and everything that the rest of us have?”

“The story is about loving your kids – that’s the story,” he added. “What is political about loving your children?”

Though a film-making student in high school and now at the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan, Noury, now 20, had “no intention of making a docuseries about my life,” she said. She first met Hyde with her mother in 2019, at a brunch for competitors in a model search by Slay Model Management, an all-trans modeling agency based in Los Angeles. Hyde originally intended to document the model search, which forms the bulk of the second episode, as an affirmation of trans beauty and the first occasion, for many of the models, to be a in room of majority trans people.

But he switched plans upon meeting Jane, who was upfront about her experience and eager to tell a story whose relative positivity and tenderness could offer a crucial model for other families with trans members. According to a Glaad study, 84% of Americans don’t personally know someone who is transgender; media representations thus hold disproportionate power over information and impressions about transgender people, including for transgender people sorting through their own self-perception. “If you don’t know a trans person, you don’t know necessarily how to relate to their experience,” said Hyde. “A lot of people could see Jane, and see the Nourys, and maybe understand something that they don’t really understand much better.”

Hyde provided Jane with a few handycams to self-document the few months leading up to the competition in February 2020 – the anticipation of a new horizon, the drudgery of school, moments of boredom, excitement and play with her sisters, parents and friends. “This was never planned to happen. It was not supposed to be an Amazon show,” said Noury. “It is a transgender coming of age story but it’s also more about just the behind the scenes of my life and trying to figure out what I want as I get older.”

“We didn’t feel like we should be trying to tell the perfect trans story, or tell the perfect trans narrative,” said Hyde. “We wanted to tell a perfect Noury story, and to tell the family story.”

There was, however, much discussion over whether and how to depict Jane’s gender-affirming surgery in 2020, owing to the long-running trend in media of obsessing over transgender bodies and surgery (see: any 90s talkshow segment on transgender people, as summarized in the Netflix documentary Disclosure, on the history of trans on-screen depictions). The title of the series reflected an explicit rejection of before/after binaries and fixations on transition as a strictly surgical change.

Hyde, the Nourys, and a trans consultant worked to avoid building the series around Jane’s surgery – no before and after pictures, no detailed images of the procedures beyond Jane’s emotional experience. “We didn’t want to make [it] a focal point of the story,” said Hyde. But some inclusion of Jane’s anticipation and emotional recovery, in the third and fourth episodes “gave the series a more in-depth side to what some trans people go through”, said Noury. “For me, personally, I needed to have surgery to help me along the road. For me, personally, I needed that in my transition. But a lot of people don’t need that.”

Gender-affirming surgery, though crucial and intensive healthcare for many trans people, is “not the overall goal, and your life still continues after surgery”, said Noury. “I didn’t want to create this idealistic journey so when other people, especially people in my community, see this, they think this is the end-all goal, but it’s not. It’s your journey, you decide.”

A goal instead is presenting more representation of trans life, still burdened by a litany of long-running stereotypes and the double-edged sword of visibility mistaken for material change in the lives of trans people, particularly trans women of color. Always Jane is a step toward the goal of “more content that caters to trans experience and that is accurate”, said Noury. “There needs to be more people in the writing room that are trans or that actually know what the experience is like for some people.”

The series is “definitely for my community”, said Noury. “But it’s really just about the love and acceptance of my family, and how that can really help a transgender child flourish.” Such continuous support, the faith in one’s child to articulate their desires, is worthy of celebration “regardless of being trans”, she added. “I feel like that could be said for any child, just being accepted and loved and heard.”

Always Jane is available on Amazon Prime on 12 November

Link to original story: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2021/nov/09/always-jane-amazon-transgender-coming-of-age

Transgender Student Shares Her Coming-of-Age Story in First Look at New Docuseries Always Jane

Jane Noury, who stars in the four-part docuseries, is an up-and-coming model who recently participated in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3

By Maria Pasquini

Jane Noury is excited about what the future holds in store for her life and career — and she's thankful to have had the support of her family each step along the way. 

In PEOPLE's exclusive first look clip of Always Jane — a four-part docuseries coming to Amazon Prime Video on Nov. 12 — audiences get a chance to meet Jane, whose passion for modeling recently earned her a spot in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3, plus her loved ones. 

"We're a family and we're always going to be there for each other," Jane, now 20, says in the clip. "People don't know what a transgender woman has to go through. It's really hard. I can't even imagine what it would be like without my family." 

The intimate show follows the student and her family as she prepares to leave home for college and pursue her dreams.

“Looking back I can't imagine how out of place that she really felt," her dad shares in the clip.

Her mom later adds, "You just want your kids to be happy. I wasn't going to fail her."

Jane tells PEOPLE that although she's very close with her family now, that too was its own journey. 

"I would say prior to my transition I was very closed off to my family. I was very closed off to myself, my own feelings," she says. "But even after coming out I was still very quiet about me being trans. I didn't want that to be the topic of conservation for me. And I was only 14 or 15 at the time. I really wasn't ready to come out of my shell and be honest about who I am." 

Her decision to share her story came about as she started her senior year of high school and began to pursue modeling. Through her work, she met Always Jane director Jonathan C. Hyde, who was inspired by her story. 

"Slowly, pieces started to fall into place," she says of the series. "I felt like it was something that I needed to do." 

"Honestly, I feel like even if this series just helps one person, it would have been worth it," she adds.

As for how she first got into modeling, Jane says her mother is her biggest cheerleader. 

"She really made me feel beautiful in every sense of the word and she gave me the confidence to put myself out there and start applying to modeling agencies and seeing what would happen," she says. 

So far, the biggest highlight on her modeling resumé would definitely be the Savage X Fenty show.  

"I got to go to the premiere and I saw RiRi. I didn't meet her but even just seeing her was enough," Jane says. "That was the cherry on top for me."

Ultimately, Jane hopes that by opening up about her life, she can help other members of the trans community feel seen and heard. 

"It took a lot of patience on my part and on my family's part to get used to me coming out and being a girl when I wasn't used to that from the very start," she says. "For the first 14 years of my life that wasn't my experience. I was someone different and I had to learn how to be someone else in a way." 

"Everyone's journey is their own experience and everyone has their own personal journey with being trans — there is not one specific journey that is right," she adds. "I think that whatever makes you feel you is the right decision. And whatever makes you happy in the end is what you should do."

Always Jane premieres Friday, Nov. 12 on Prime Video.

Original Article: https://people.com/human-interest/transgender-student-jane-noury-shares-coming-of-age-story-always-jane-docuseries-first-look/

Union Editorial Partners with Amazon Studios and Mutt Film on Transgender Coming-of-Age Docuseries ‘Always Jane’

The four-part story premieres November 12 on Amazon Prime Video

LOS ANGELES

--(SPW)--

Amazon Prime Video has announced the upcoming four-part docuseries Always Jane - a production of Amazon Studios, Mutt Film, and Union Editorial - which follows transgender teenager Jane Noury and her family as she nears graduation and prepares to leave the nest in a true coming-of-age story. This intimate and unguarded look at the Nourys reveals a family with unconditional love that shines through as they tackle obstacles head-on so that Jane can live authentically. Navigating deeply personal and challenging issues, the Noury family’s uplifting humor and kindness is always present, revealing the transformative power of acceptance, support, and love. All four episodes of the Amazon Original series Always Jane will premiere on Prime Video on Friday, November 12, in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

Jonathan C. Hyde directed the series and also served as executive producer with Union Partner/Editor James Haygood and Partner/Managing Director Michael Raimondi. Mutt Film’s Beth George and Shannon Lords-Houghton and Jane Noury also served as executive producers, while Union’s Katherine LeBlond served as producer.

“They really had me at hello. The pure joy and love that this family embodied came through on the pitch piece Jonathan showed us,” Raimondi recalled. “I knew then we had to find a way to get this made. Jane's story is too important to not be told. It's one we need to tell again and again.” 

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In recent years, Union has complemented its expertise in creative editorial, graphics, and finishing for commercial and long-form projects, with original content development, consulting, and financing for branded content, features, and documentary series. These include A BEAUTIFUL CURSE (Les Producers 2021), the feature debut of writer/director Martin Garde Abildgaard. Raimondi and Union Partner/Editor Marco Perez are among the executive producers of the film, which has received numerous honors, including Best Editing for Perez, at the RiverRun International Film Festival, and Grand Jury Prize for Best Genre Film at Cinequest 2021, where it had its World Premiere. ARCTIC (Bleecker Street 2019), starring Mads Mikkelsen (ANOTHER ROUND), was produced by Union with Partner/Editor Einar Thorsteinsson executive producing and Raimondi as Co-Executive Producer. The film was praised by Rolling Stone (“an ice-cold killer of a movie”), LA Times (“an effective nail-biter”), Indie Wire (“packed with excitement”), and Entertainment Weekly (“a harrowing postcard from the void”).

“After helping with editorial on a string of doc series over the last few years, we’d been on the lookout for a project we could champion from the beginning,” said Haygood, whose recent longform credits include serving as Producer on “Shawn Mendes: In Wonder” (Netflix 2020), with LeBlond as Co-Producer, and Zach Kashkett as Editor. “We were fortunate to connect with Jonathan early on to help with the pitch and find a streaming home for this moving story about Jane and her family. ‘Always Jane’ is a project we’re so proud to share with the world.”

“I see Always Jane as a love story. Love stories always have hopes, dreams, and heartache, but best of all—a happily ever after. My family has always abundantly showered my sisters and I with love and acceptance, and that made all the difference in the world for my transition. My genuine hope is that a family who may be struggling with acceptance is inspired to open their hearts and embrace their very own story of love upon viewing Always Jane,” said Jane Noury. 

“As Union Editorial expands its repertoire, we were so ecstatic to take on such an important story of inclusivity and positivity as a project we could build from the beginning,” concluded LeBlond. “Working with Jane and The Noury family has been a true career highlight for all involved and Amazon Studios was the perfect home.”

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About Union
Union Editorial has offices located in Los Angeles, New York, Austin, and London, where it maintains an alliance with Marshall Street Editors. The company also develops and produces original content through its Union Entertainment Group banner. Other Union companies include Hunter, which provides finishing services, vfx, graphics and mix for commercials, features and gaming. Union is presided over by Partner/Managing Director Michael Raimondi alongside Executive Producer Joe Ross and Head of Production Dani DuHadway in LA, Partner/Managing Director Caryn Maclean alongside Executive Producer Melissa Lubin in NY, Executive Producer Vicki Russell in Austin, and Logan Aries, Executive Producer of Hunter. The Union roster is comprised of Partner/Editors Jim Haygood, Einar Thorsteinsson, Jay Friedkin, Sloane Klevin, Marco Perez, Merritt Duff, Graham Turner, and Chris Huth, editors Daniel Luna, Laura Milstein, Jason Lucas, Karen Kourtessis, Kevin Ray, Nicholas Wayman-Harris, Rachael Waxler, Zach Kashkett, Andrea MacArthur, Amanda Perry, Justin “Q” Quagliata, and Rick Lawley, as well as select projects with Teddy Gersten, Tim Thornton-Allan, Matt Chesse, John Mayes, Spencer Ferszt, Paul Plew and the Marshall Street roster. 

About Always Jane
Jane Noury lives with her family in rural New Jersey, and like any teenager, must balance friends, family, and school. While today’s political and social climate may not seem like the easiest time for a transgender teenager to grow up, you haven’t met her family, the Nourys. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and find irreverent humor in daily life, while Jane sets her sights on life beyond her family.

About Mutt Film
Mutt Film started in 2016 with the idea of taking a multidisciplinary approach to film production. Mutt brings high production quality to both long form and short form content. Mutt prides itself on creating content around social issues and promoting eco responsibility in the film industry. As a WBENC-certified female-owned business, Mutt strives to promote equality and diversity in the workplace.

Link to original article: https://www.shootonline.com/spw/union-editorial-partners-amazon-studios-and-mutt-film-transgender-coming-age-docuseries-‘always

New Amazon series from Mutt Film launches November 12th

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Amazon Prime Video has ordered the four-part coming-of-age docuseries Always Jane, which spotlights transgender teenager Jane Noury and her family as she nears her high school graduation and prepares for college. The project hails from Amazon Studios, Mutt Film and Union Editorial. Jonathan C. Hyde directs.

Amazon’s description is as follows: “Jane Noury lives with her family in rural New Jersey, and like any teenager, must balance friends, family, and school. While today’s political and social climate may not seem like the easiest time for a transgender teenager to grow up, you haven’t met her family, the Nourys. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and find irreverent humor in daily life, while Jane sets her sights on life beyond her family.”

The docuseries’ subject Jane is pursuing a career in modeling and acting and recently appeared in Rihanna’s Savage X Fenty Vol. 3 fashion show. She is currently enrolled in college as a film major. The docuseries reveals Jane’s passion and gift for visual storytelling.

All four episodes of Always Jane will debut on Amazon Prime Video Friday, November 12.

Hyde also serves as executive producer with James Haygood and Michael Raimondi. Mutt Film’s Beth George and Shannon Lords-Houghton and Jane Noury also served as executive producers, while Katherine LeBlond served as producer.

“I see Always Jane as a love story. Love stories always have hopes, dreams, and heartache, but best of all—a happily ever after. My family has always abundantly showered my sisters and I with love and acceptance, and that made all the difference in the world for my transition. My genuine hope is that a family who may be struggling with acceptance is inspired to open their hearts and embrace their very own story of love upon viewing Always Jane,” said Jane Noury.

Hyde added: “We have been afforded the opportunity with Always Jane to offer a rare look at one family’s journey to acceptance. The Nourys are hilarious, honest, and raw in their commitment to love, and support one another no matter what. It is a joy to watch [and] it’s been our privilege to share their story.”

“Always Jane is a revealing look at one family’s uplifting and heartfelt journey, anchored by Jane’s incredible candor and wit about her life thus far,” said Vernon Sanders, co-head of television, Amazon Studios. “We know Jane’s triumphant story and her extraordinary family will resonate with our Prime Video viewers.”

Link to original story: https://deadline.com/2021/09/always-jane-amazon-prime-orders-four-part-transgender-teen-docuseries-1234847348/

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Coming-of-Age Docuseries "Always Jane," Following the Journey of Transgender Teen Jane Noury and Her Family, Premieres November 12 on Amazon Prime Video

Coming-of-Age Docuseries "Always Jane," Following the Journey of Transgender Teen Jane Noury and Her Family, Premieres November 12 on Amazon Prime Video

The four-part story, an intimate look at Jane as she navigates major life changes with the support of her family, will premiere in more than 240 countries and territories

CULVER CITY, California - September 30, 2021 - Today, Amazon Prime Video announced the upcoming four-part docuseries Always Jane, which follows transgender teenager Jane Noury and her family as she nears graduation and prepares to leave the nest in a true coming-of-age story. This intimate and unguarded look at the Nourys reveals a family with unconditional love that shines through as they tackle obstacles head-on so that Jane can live authentically. Navigating deeply personal and challenging issues, the Noury family's uplifting humor and kindness is always present, revealing the transformative power of acceptance, support, and love. All four episodes of the Amazon Original series Always Jane will premiere on Prime Video on Friday, November 12, in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.

"Always Jane is a revealing look at one family's uplifting and heartfelt journey, anchored by Jane's incredible candor and wit about her life thus far," said Vernon Sanders, co-head of television, Amazon Studios. "We know Jane's triumphant story and her extraordinary family will resonate with our Prime Video viewers."

"We have been afforded the opportunity with Always Jane to offer a rare look at one family's journey to acceptance. The Nourys are hilarious, honest, and raw in their commitment to love, and support one another no matter what. It is a joy to watch [and] it's been our privilege to share their story," said director Jonathan C. Hyde.

"I see Always Jane as a love story. Love stories always have hopes, dreams, and heartache, but best of all - a happily ever after. My family has always abundantly showered my sisters and I with love and acceptance, and that made all the difference in the world for my transition. My genuine hope is that a family who may be struggling with acceptance is inspired to open their hearts and embrace their very own story of love upon viewing Always Jane," said Jane Noury.

Jane, who is actively pursuing a career in modeling and acting and recently appeared in Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Vol. 3 fashion show, is currently enrolled in college as a film major. The docuseries, which includes footage intimately captured by Jane herself, reveals Jane's passion and gift for visual storytelling.

Always Jane is a production of Amazon Studios, Mutt Film, and Union Editorial. Jonathan C. Hyde directed the series and also served as executive producer with James Haygood and Michael Raimondi. Mutt Film's Beth George and Shannon Lords-Houghton and Jane Noury also served as executive producers, while Katherine LeBlond served as producer.

About Always Jane

Jane Noury lives with her family in rural New Jersey, and like any teenager, must balance friends, family, and school. While today's political and social climate may not seem like the easiest time for a transgender teenager to grow up, you haven't met her family, the Nourys. They wear their hearts on their sleeves and find irreverent humor in daily life, while Jane sets her sights on life beyond her family.

About Mutt Film

Mutt Film started in 2016 with the idea of taking a multidisciplinary approach to film production. Mutt brings high production quality to both long form and short form content. Mutt prides itself on creating content around social issues and promoting eco responsibility in the film industry. As a WBENC-certified female-owned business, Mutt strives to promote equality and diversity in the workplace.

About Union Editorial

Union is a collection of companies with expertise in creative editorial, graphics, and finishing for commercial and long-form projects, as well as original content development, consulting, and financing for branded content, features, and documentary series. Union has offices in Los Angeles, New York, and Austin and a partnership with Marshall Street Editors London.

About Prime Video

Prime Video offers customers a vast collection of movies, series, and sports - all available to watch on hundreds of compatible devices.

Included with Prime Video: Watch movies, series and sports, including Thursday Night Football. Enjoy series and films, including the newly released Cinderella, Emmy Award-nominated satirical superhero drama The Boys, limited series The Underground Railroad, and the films Sylvie's Love and Uncle Frank; and the smash hits Coming 2 America, Tom Clancy's Without Remorse, The Tomorrow War, Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, Upload, and My Spy, as well as Emmy- and Golden Globe-winners Fleabag and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Golden Globe-winner Small Axe, Academy Award-winner Sound of Metal, Golden Globe-winner and Academy Award-nominee Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, and Academy Award-nominees One Night in Miami... and Time. Prime members also get access to licensed content.

Prime Video Channels: Prime members can add channels like Paramount+, BET+, EPIX, Noggin, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, STARZ, and SHOWTIME - no extra apps to download, and no cable required. Only pay for the ones you want, and cancel anytime. View the full list of channels available at amazon.com/channels.

Rent or Buy: Enjoy new-release movies to rent or buy, entire seasons of current TV shows available to buy, and special deals just for Prime members.

Instant access: Watch at home or on the go with your choice of hundreds of compatible devices. Stream from the web or using the Prime Video app on your smartphone, tablet, set-top box, game console, or select smart TV.

Enhanced experiences: Make the most of every viewing with 4K Ultra HD- and High Dynamic Range (HDR)-compatible content. Go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows with exclusive X-Ray access, powered by IMDb. Save it for later with select mobile downloads for offline viewing.

Prime Video is just one of many shopping and entertainment benefits included with a Prime membership, along with fast, free shipping on millions of Prime-eligible items at Amazon.com, unlimited photo storage, exclusive deals and discounts, and access to ad-free music and Kindle ebooks. To sign up or start a 30-day free trial of Prime, visit: amazon.com/prime.

Original Article Link: http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news/2021/09/30/coming-of-age-docuseries-always-jane-following-the-journey-of-transgender-teen-jane-noury-and-her-family-premieres-november-12-on-amazon-prime-video-340113/20210930amazon01/

Jason Smith Shoots Campaign for Kaufland

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Jason Smith is shooting a pan European Christmas campaign for Kaufland. Spending time in Vienna, Bratislava, and Berlin Jason Smith’s campaign involves recreating a winter wonderland in July.

He is working alongside production designer Sven Gessner and cinematographer Steve Keith Roach on the project.

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Justin Wu Directs Episode of "Kim's Convenience"

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Why ‘Kim’s Convenience’ Is ‘Quietly Revolutionary’

By Priya Krishna

In not explaining every detail of Korean food culture, the award-winning Canadian sitcom speaks volumes.

In the second episode of the television show “Kim’s Convenience,” there’s a moment that has always stuck with Diane Paik.

Umma, the matriarch of the Kim family, arrives at the apartment of her son, Jung, carrying containers of kimbap.

It’s not a particularly pivotal scene, but it immediately brought Ms. Paik, 30, a senior social media manager for the men’s grooming company Harry’s, back to the many times her own parents drove 10 hours from their home in West Bloomfield, Mich., to her apartment in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, always with their homemade kimchi in tow.

Bringing food is her mother’s love language, she said — an unspoken way that Korean parents show affection by ensuring that their children’s kitchens are stocked with home-cooked meals.

The scene resonated with her for another reason. “There is no explanation or embarrassment” about the food, Ms. Paik said. “It is not so much, ‘Hey, we are Korean and we are going to remind you all the time through all these ways we are Korean.’ It is just like, this is a family that happens to be Korean.”

“Kim’s Convenience,” a CBC Television sitcom based on a play of the same name about a Korean Canadian family who own a convenience store in Toronto, is not about food, per se. But the show stands apart for the way it has normalized Korean cuisine and culture throughout its five-season run. (The fifth and final season arrives on Netflix internationally on Wednesday.)

“It takes the foreignness and otherness out of Korean food,” said June Hur, 31, an author in Toronto. “It’s just food and people love it.” Seeing this on television “makes me proud of my heritage,” she added. “Before, I was not as much.”

For decades, Asian cuisines have been played for laughs on television. In a 1977 episode of the detective sitcom “Barney Miller,” Stan “Wojo” Wojciehowicz tells his colleague Nick Yemana that his lunch of fish head soup “smells like garbage.” A 1974episode of “Sanford and Son” has Fred Sanford comparing the smell of sake to sweat socks at a dinner with members of a Japanese real estate firm.

James Park, 27, a social media manager at the food website Eater, noticed that in contemporary portrayals of nonwhite characters, what used to be embarrassment or shame had transformed into calling out or explaining certain foods. In the 2018 romantic comedy “Crazy Rich Asians,” the camera zooms in on the male lead, played by Henry Golding, as he pleats a dumpling. He explains the technique to his Chinese American girlfriend, played by Constance Wu, but it’s the audience that’s getting the lesson. In 2018’s “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before,” the Korean American protagonist, played by Lana Candor, describes Yakult, a popular drink among Koreans, to her boyfriend as a “Korean yogurt smoothie.”

Those explanations can be helpful to viewers who are unfamiliar with this food. But in not prioritizing people who have not heard of kimbap or kimchi jjigae, “Kim’s Convenience” makes its story lines and characters feel more universal.

Viewers, regardless of their background, can focus on the similarities between themselves and the Kims, not the differences, said Dale Yim, the manager of his family’s Korean restaurant in Toronto, Song Cook’s, and an actor who played Jung in the stage version of “Kim’s Convenience.” The Kims’ Korean identity “is accepted as just matter of fact, and they move on and get to the deeper themes,” he said.

“Kim’s Convenience” premiered on CBC in 2016, winning a loyal viewership and several Canadian Screen Awards. Like the Canadian comedy series “Schitt’s Creek,” its following grew exponentially when “Kim’s Convenience” debuted on Netflix — in “Kim’s” case, in 2018. When its co-creator, Ins Choi (who declined to be interviewed for this article) announced in March that the show’s fifth season would be its last, the outcry on social media was immense. Even the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, tweeted his thanks for the run.

While the show reaches a wide audience, its framing around food has made it especially meaningful to members of the Korean diaspora.

Irene Yoo, a Brooklyn chef and YouTube host, said that after seeing so many immigrant narratives told through the lens of historical trauma, she loved “being able to see my stories and my food sort of gently and casually referenced” in a way that has usually been reserved for shows about white families. She called that “quietly revolutionary.”

Her favorite episode centers on the daughter, Janet (played by Andrea Bang), and her struggle to recreate her mother’s bindaetteok.

Ms. Yoo said the segment spoke to a very specific insecurity she has felt, as a second-generation immigrant, about certain Korean ingredients that feel unfamiliar to her even as someone who was raised on this food. “It felt very empowering” to see Janet make bindaetteok her own, Ms. Yoo said, just as she has done for some of her mother’s Korean dishes. “I have to do my own discovery.”

Jay Lee, the chief executive of the Toronto consulting company Radical Business Growth, and the founder of the Facebook group Friends Who Like Kim’s Convenience, recalled the episode when Umma (played by Jean Yoon) brings kalbi jjim, a special-occasion dish, to a church bazaar to one-up her rival.

Mr. Lee, 46, attended a Korean church while growing up, and said he had never seen a show so realistically portray that experience.

As a child, he’d go to the basement of his church after services with his grandmother and find all the other grandmothers trading seeds for various vegetables. “It was a way of coming together and showing love and showing up,” he said, interpersonal politics and all. That scene “took me right back. I recognized that church scene as my own church scene.”

These moments may refer to particular aspects of Korean culture, but being competitive about cooking or trying to prepare a childhood dish are relatable experiences.

“It is just another reminder that shows that really focus on a certain community do not lose humanity for anyone outside of that community,” said Ms. Paik, the social media manager.

Yet what Mr. Park, of Eater, loves most about the show is that there are certain culinary references that non-Koreans simply won’t understand. When Umma and Appa (played by Paul Sun-Hyung Lee) go out to dinner, leaving Janet — and eventually Jung (played by Simu Liu) — to tend to the store, Umma makes kkori gomtang for dinner. It’s a time-intensive oxtail dish that Korean mothers might make when they are going to be away for a while, he explained, as it’s easy to reheat and improves in flavor over time. He added that his own mother would often leave big pots of gomtang for his brother and him to eat while she was at work.

“If you don’t know what they are talking about, you wouldn’t even get it,” he said. “But for Koreans who grew up with those menus and the kind of context and meaning behind why mom makes these kinds of dishes, it hits harder.”

“American shows need to take note,” Mr. Park added. The way “Kim’s Convenience” centers nonwhite experiences, he said, should serve as a blueprint for any on-screen representation of immigrant characters.

“It feels refreshing,” he said. It “doesn’t make you feel like just another stereotype.”

Gerard De Thame Recognized with Addy

Proud to share that the Miami Ad Fed has awarded our Mercury "Boat Thief” film directed by Gerard de Thame with a 2021 Silver Addy.