The Last Mermaids

thelastmermaids
For 2,000 years, the Haenyos (women sea divers) 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. Winner of the 2009 Oscar for student documentary.

3/20 4:00 (Latchis) & 3/21 4:00 (Latchis)

The Last Mermaids 2009

Liz Chae 19 min

So. Korea / USA Short Doc

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.

THE LAST MERMAIDS directed by Liz Chae

Bio and Filmography

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, music and photography before venturing out to study film in Paris. Upon her return to New York, she began her career in film exhibition, worked as an assistant to actress Viveca Lindfors and then moved into production, working on 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 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, the ASCAP Music Composition Grant and Faculty Honors from the Columbia Film Division. The Last Mermaids premiered at the 13^th Annual Pusan International Film Festival, received a Special Jury Mention for Short Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival 2009, won the Gold Medal at the 36^th Student Academy Awards 2009 and screened at the Telluride Film Festival 2009. Liz, currently a Fulbright Scholar in South Korea, is developing a feature film project.

FILMOGRAPHY

Director

The Last Mermaids, Short Documentary.
This Property is Condemned, short starring Katie Bruce and Adam Scarimbolo.
My Double Happiness, short starring Didi Wong and Shing Ka.
Kimchi, short starring Ja-Won Kim and Nathalie Kim.
Reunion, short starring Eleanor Hutchins.
Heatstroke, short starring Viveca Lindfors.

Producer

The Headhunter’s Sister, feature directed by Scott Saunders of Film Crash. Winner of Grand Jury Prize (Florida Film Festival) and Jury Prize (Seattle International Film Festival).

Production Manager

1999, feature starring Dan Futterman, Jennifer Garner, Steven Wright and Buck Henry.
Sandman, short starring William Hicky and Deborah Harry.
Virginity, short starring Amanda Peet.

Production Coordinator

Three Seasons, feature directed and produced by Tony Bui starring Harvey Keitel.
Henry Fool, feature directed and produced by Hal Hartley and the Shooting Gallery starring Parker Posey, James Urbaniak and Thomas Jay Ryan.
Suits, feature starring Robert Klein, Larry Pine and Paul Lazar.