2008 – 19 min – New York/Korea – Korean & English w/ English subtitles – color
Distinctions
Gold medal at the 36th Student Academy Awards 2009, Tribeca Film Festival 2009, 13th Pusan International Film Festival 2008.
Synopsis
Mother to daughter. Generation after generation. The women of Jeju Island off of South Korea 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. THE LAST MERMAIDS is a short documentary showing these women, aged 45-85, as they dive deep into the ocean — the refuge that has given them life, shielded them from war and allowed them to educate their daughters. For two thousand 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.
Director’s Bio
Liz Chae is a writer/director committed to bringing stories of women and the Korean-American experience to the screen. Born in Jamaica to Korean parents, she and her family immigrated to America when she was six. Eventually settling in New York City, Liz pursued her love of writing and photography before venturing out to study film in Paris. Upon her return to New York, she began her career in film exhibition and then moved into production, working on many independent films, including Tony Bui’s Sundance Award-Winning THREE SEASONS and Hal Hartley’s HENRY FOOL. This led to a career producing and directing movie trailers for Paramount and Nickelodeon.
A recent 2009 graduate of the MFA Film Directing program at Columbia University, Liz has directed several acclaimed shorts, including HEATSTROKE (starring Viveca Lindfors), KIM CHI, and MY DOUBLE HAPPINESS. THE LAST MERMAIDS, her first documentary, was awarded the A&E Development Award and the ASCAP Music Composition Grant and was granted Faculty Honors from the Columbia University Film Division. THE LAST MERMAIDS premiered at the 13th Annual Pusan International Film Festival and was the awarded Special Jury Mention for short documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival 2009 and most recently won the gold medal at the 36th Student Academy Awards 2009. Liz lives in New York City.
