SIXTEEN

Starring newcomers Sua Cho, Dan Lee, and Hae In Song, Sixteen is written and directed by Nahyeon Lee, produced by Julie Zhu and assistant produced by Tom Augustine.

Sixteen follows daydreamer Yaejin Kim with her boyfriend Wes, as she distances herself from her manicurist immigrant mum. Her mum stands for everything she wants to push away, frugality, difference and loneliness, seeing a glowing escapism with Wes.

Sixteen is an honest exploration into intergenerational differences, teenage rebellion and what it means to grow up. Blending vignettes of domesticity with chaotic K-Pop fantasies, Sixteen follows the teenagers as they reach a milestone in their relationship.

Featuring choreography by Rina Chae and set to a soundtrack featuring Imugi and Hans, Sixteen is an exploration of contemporary Korean identity in New Zealand.

THE DIRECTOR
Written and directed by Nahyeon Lee, Sixteen is a semi-autobiographical short film made for a University of Auckland screen production thesis project under the supervision of screenwriter Shuchi Kothari with additional guidance from Proudly Asian Theatre's 2018 NZFC New Asian Writers initiative.
Nahyeon's previous directorial credits include the anthology short film Myth of the Model Minority (2019) for TVNZ on Demand that brought together 40+ Asian actors, and Western gold rush short My Mother Told Me (2017) that played at Short + Sweet Film 2018, and was nominated for people's choice award.
In her other creative endeavours, she is one of two producing interns for arts company Satellites, and the current producer for the upcoming first Filipino-NZ play, Pinay written by Marianne Infante, programmed for Basement Theatre's winter season.


YOUR CONTRIBUTION
Sixteen is a short film that is currently independently self-funded. In order to fulfill and complete our vision, we need an additional $4,500 to subsidise our current budget.
This funding will go towards paying production costs including art department and costume and paying our crew who are already generously giving their time to the film. We need your help to be able to complete this film.
All donors will receive a credit in the film and an exclusive invite to the screening of the film (including a private viewing link). Donations also quality for a 33% tax credit for New Zealand donors.