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Unfamiliar Ties

KIM Yukyung

  • South Korea
  • 2025
  • 14min
  • G
  • DCP
  • color

Synopsis

 Growing up with divorced parents, 15-year-old Haeun is left completely alone after losing her mother. Before she has time to grieve, she is confronted with a stack of unfamiliar documents filled with terms she has never seen before. They are the paperwork and administrative procedures she must complete to settle her mother's affairs and begin living on her own, but they are overwhelming for someone still so young. Her aunt visits from time to time and offers to help, yet her kindness seems to come with hidden intentions. With no one else to rely on, Haeun decides to seek out the father she doesn’t remember. After finally tracking down his phone number, she nervously calls, but only hears the ringing tone. He never answers. She tries again using her late mother's phone, but there is still no response. As a last attempt, Haeun prepares to leave him a voice message, but no words come out.

Director's Statement

I want to tell a story about something that doesn't happen often around us, but could happen to anyone.

Even though I’m still just a high school student, I've occasionally seen peers around me lose their mother or father. It must be incredibly difficult just to accept the reality itself, so I started wondering: What would it be like if they had absolutely no one left to lean on? Since I haven't experienced this firsthand, I can't fully comprehend their grief and hardships, but I wanted to empathize with them through filmmaking.

There are youths who have no one to rely on and eventually give up trying to lean on anyone. I planned this project because I wanted to offer comfort and empathy to those friends, while also shedding light on a child facing a barrage of legal paperwork and external pressures, ultimately sending them a message of support.​

schedule

Code Time Theater Grade
I-Teens Shorts033 2026-08-22 | 10:30 - 12:03 MEGABOX Sinchon 7 GV
I-Teens Shorts085 2026-08-24 | 12:30 - 14:03 MEGABOX Sinchon 8

Director

  • KIM Yukyung

    Kim Yukyung made the short films Love Game and Unfamiliar Ties in 2025, and directed the short film How to Make a Wishing Star Work in 2026.

Credit

  • Cast 임지은, 조윤영 LIM Jieun, CHO Yoonyoung
  • Screenwriter 김유경 KIM Yukyung
  • Cinematographer 전지훈 JEON Jihoon
  • Editor 김유경 KIM Yukyung
  • Sound 이윤경 LEE Yoonkyung