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“I Got to Have a Korean Wedding” | Andrew Ahn, The Wedding Banquet

Two men embrace, one wears glasses and the other hugs from behind.The Wedding Banquet, courtesy of Sundance Institute.

Films are made over many days, but some days are more memorable, and important, than others. Imagine yourself in ten years looking back on this production. What day from your film’s development, production or post do you think you’ll view as the most significant and why?

I will always remember the morning of our first day filming the Korean wedding sequence of our movie. My parents were on set, stationed at video village with our producers. It was Youn Yuh-jung’s birthday (we surprised her with a cake at lunch). The set dec team and I fussed over the wedding altar, trying to get these ceremonial chicken dolls to stay standing in the wind. And then the cast came downstairs for our first blocking rehearsal wearing their traditional hanboks and I just lost it. I wept. Our DP Ki Jin Kim hugged me.

I’ve spent much of my adulthood coming to terms with how my queer identity would preclude me from participating in these types of Korean rituals, rituals celebrating family, rituals that bring you closer to family. By writing and directing this film, I was able to reconcile my queer and Korean identities. With my cast and crew, my friends and family, I got to have a Korean wedding.

See all responses to our annual Sundance Question here.
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