151 // Andrew Ahn // Director - Fire Island

Andrew Ahn, Korean American filmmaker, joins Jerry to talk about his latest film, Fire Island, out today on Hulu! Andrew shares about his journey into filmmaking, including how he came out to his parents. Listen in as Andrew and Jerry talk about the importance of sharing the stories that we don't hear often enough and why we do what we do for us and our future generations.Meet Andrew:Andrew Ahn is a Korean-American filmmaker born and raised in Los Angeles. His debut feature film SPA NIGHT will premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival in the US Dramatic Competition. Ahn participated in the Sundance Screenwriters Lab, the Film Independent Screenwriting Lab, and the Film Independent Directing Lab for the project. With his producing team, Ahn raised over $62,000 on Kickstarter to fund production. The project also received a Sundance Institute Cinereach Feature Film Fellow grant, Panavision New Filmmaker grant, and FilmLA grant.Ahn's short film "Dol (First Birthday)" premiered at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and has screened at numerous other festivals and venues around the world, including the Lincoln Center, REDCAT, and the Los Angeles Film Festival. The film received the Outfest Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Dramatic Short Film and the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival Jury Award for Best Narrative Short.Ahn is an alum of Film Independent’s Project Involve and has promoted diversity in the arts by mentoring youth filmmakers through programs like Pacific Arts Movement’s Reel Voices and Outfest’s OutSet. He is also a board member of Los Angeles Performance Practice. He graduated from Brown University and received an MFA in Film Directing from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts).(Source: AndrewAhnFilms.com)Connect with Andrew:Instagram: @andrewahnfilmsWebsite: http://www.andrewahnfilms.com/About Fire IslandSet in the iconic Pines, Andrew Ahn’s FIRE ISLAND is an unapologetic, modern day rom-com showcasing a diverse, multicultural examination of queerness and romance. Inspired by the timeless pursuits from Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, the story centers around two best friends (Joel Kim Booster and Bowen Yang) who set out to have a legendary summer adventure with the help of cheap rosé and their cadre of eclectic friends.This episode of Dear Asian Americans is brought to you by the Quarter Pounder with Cheese from McDonald's. It’s QPC time. Did your mouth just water? The QPC is the burger that breaks the norms of etiquette, the burger that napkins were made for, the burger that's saucy, drippy, oozing with flavor, always cooked when you order. So the next time you want a mouthwatering burger, order the QPC from McDonald's!// Support Dear Asian Americans:Merch: https://www.bonfire.com/store/dearasianamericans/Buy Me a Coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/jerrywonLearn more about DAA Creator and Host Jerry Won:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jerrywon/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jerryjwon/// Listen to Dear Asian Americans on all major platforms:Transistor.fm: http://www.dearasianamericans.comApple: https://apple.dearasianamericans.comSpotify: https://spotify.dearasianamericans.comStitcher: https://stitcher.dearasianamericans.comGoogle: https://google.dearasianamericans.com  Follow us on Instagram:  http://www.instagram.com/dearasianamericans Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/dearasianamericans Subscribe to our YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/dearasianamericans // Join the Asian Podcast Network:Web: https://asianpodcastnetwork.com/Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/asianpodcastnetwork/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asianpodcastnetwork/Dear Asian Americans is produced by Just Like Media:Web: http://www.justlikemedia.comInstagram.com: http://www.instagram.com/justlikemedia