EOE Interviews Filmmakers Alexander Sebastian Lee, Mikyung Kim and Jason Hoffman at the 2009 San Diego Asian Film Festival

Dawna Lee Heising and John Alsedek Film Eye on Entertainment on Time Warner Cable Segment with “The Real Shaolin” and “Going Home” Filmmakers

Dawna Lee Heising and John Alsedek of Eye on Entertainment on Time Warner Cable interviewed filmmakers Alexander Sebastian Lee, Mikyung Kim and Jason Hoffman at the UltraStar Theatre at the San Diego Asian Film Festival on Saturday, October 24, 2009.

The Real Shaolin is a 2008 documentary film directed by Alexander Sebastien Lee. The Real Shaolin follows the story of two Chinese and two Westerners who journey to the Shaolin Temple in China, inspired by the legends portrayed in Kung Fu movies with Bruce Lee and Jet Li. In the course of excruciating martial arts training, their fantasies to become Kung Fu warriors collide with harsh reality, as the Shaolin Temple is the ultimate test for martial artists from all over the world. "Real Shaolin" follows two Chinese and two Westerners who journey to the Shaolin Temple in central Henan province, inspired by the mythical feats from film heroes Li and others.

A Korean-American graduate of USC’s famed film school, Lee decided to make his documentary after venturing to Shaolin to see if he could survive the excruciating training. Lee, 29, a black-belt in tae kwon do and a first-time director who wrote, produced and shot the film, spent about 18 months filming two Chinese, Yuan Peng and Zhu Hao Shan, American Orion Lee and Frenchman Eric Guillou, as they spent 8 to 10 hours-a-day kicking, punching stretching, and just as important praying and meditating.

Since hardly anyone actually studies kung fu at the Shaolin Temple (it is mostly a tourist attraction now after surviving 1,500 years of wars and revolutions), Lee followed the four students in the nearby rural city of Dengfeng, dubbed "Kung Fu City" for its 40,000 students and 100 martial arts academies.  “The Real Shaolin” has been screened at the Toronto Film Festival, in New York, Los Angeles and Hawaii and at SDAFF.  “The Real Shaolin” won the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival Documentary Special Jury Prize on May 8, 2008.  Lee now lives in Beijing, China, and is excited about pursuing a successful film career there. 

“Going Home” was written, directed and produced by Jason Hoffman, a 21 year-old Korean adoptee who was raised Jewish in New York City and released by ThirdCat Productions.  Executive producer of the film is Mikyung Kim. “Going Home” is a documentary about family, love and blood, and chronicles the challenges and triumphs of locating Hoffman’s roots and birth family in Korea. Hoffman experienced an idyllic childhood and was raised by his loving and supportive Jewish adopted parents in New York City.

As a senior at Emerson College in New York, Hoffman decided to take on the challenge of finding his birth family in Korea. As a child, he barely expressed any interest in his Korean heritage. But as he grew into a young adult, so did his curiosity.  As a starting point, Hoffman initiated contact with his birth mother and a social worker, which eventually resulted in meeting his whole birth family. Without knowing whether face-to-face meetings were even possible, Hoffman took a chance and traveled to Seoul, Korea with his girlfriend, Mikyung Kim, and was later joined by his adoptive parents in Seoul.  He and Kim spent one month documenting the experience of being immersed in the culture that Hoffman left behind three weeks after he was born.

Going Home began production in late May 2007 in New York City.  Hoffmann initiated the project by capturing the dynamic of his life in New York through its culture, environment, and people. His New York  lifestyle was contrasted with the culture of his native land.  On Tuesday, July 24th, 2007, Hoffman met his birth mother and his aunt for the first time and shortly after that, spent a day with his newly discovered sister. Hoffman and Kim are both Emerson College film school graduates.  Andrew J. Whitaker is the director of photography for “Going Home”, John Avino is the composer and Matt Horowitz is the assistant cameraman. Associate producers of “Going Home” are Ross Girard (rgirard@thirdcatproductions.com) and Nikki Muller (nmuller@thirdcatproductions.com)

The San Diego Asian Film Festival

The San Diego Asian Film Festival (SDAFF) is an annual event of the San Diego Asian Film Foundation. The mission of SDAFF is to connect audiences to the human experience through the Pan Asian media arts. SDAFF has been around since 2000, premiering films from around the world.  Emphasis is placed on Asian American cinema, but SDAFF also showcases international films, along with shorts, documentaries, and animation. The 10th Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival takes place October 15-29, 2009 in San Diego. Most screenings and panel discussions October 15-29 will take at the UltraStar Mission Valley at Hazard Center.

About Eye on Entertainment
“Eye on Entertainment”, a division of Eye on Excellence™ Productions, is aired twice weekly on Time Warner Cable in Southern California. The EOE team covers awards shows, entertainment events and film festivals, as well as featuring interviews with successful people in all walks of life, exploring the traits they have in common. Dawna Lee Heising is the executive producer and host of EOE.  She is a long-standing member of SAG & AFTRA, and is Ms. Universe 2009.  The show is produced and directed by John Alsedek, who is also the writer, director & producer of the horror anthology series “AS DARKNESS FALLS”, which runs on Time Warner Cable.  The EOE photographer is David McNeil, who is a former executive with United Artists and was one of the developers of Pay-per-View.  For more information, please visit http://www.eyeonentertainment.tv/ and www.youtube.com/eyeonentertainment