Justin Chon’s Gook will be screened nationwide this summer.
The Next Audience Award winner at the Sundance Film Festival has been picked up by Samuel Goldwyn Films, reported Variety.
The film evolves around the story of two Korean American brothers and their unlikely friendship with an 11-year-old African American girl during the height of racial tensions and the 1992 Los Angeles riots.
“The core ethos of our company is to offer original voices and uniquely told stories the opportunity to reach a broad audience and we could not be more proud to bring such a relevant film from an emerging filmmaker into the marketplace,” said Peter Goldwyn, president of Samuel Goldwyn Films.
Chon both directs and stars in the film alongside David So and Simone Baker, who portrays the 11 year old.
Gook is also scheduled to play at the upcoming San Diego Asian Film Festival on April 29th.
The film is produced by James J. Yi and Alex Chi and is based on an incident during the Koreatown riots.
“I was 11 at the time, during the third , fourth day of the civil unrest was when we got hit,” said Justin Chon during an interview with Kore Asian Media in 2016. “I remember my dad not being home and he was protecting the store. He was one of the guys on the roof with a gun making sure we didn’t get robbed, but eventually we got looted and our place was destroyed. 25 years later, I do understand. It is important. Film especially as a medium is so great to story tell-to show how you view certain social issues.”
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