Yein Ji

I chose to tell this story because it kept me up at night. Time flew by as I wrote draft after draft. I was so excited to make the shot list and ask my friends to help me make it. It was the most fun I had during 2020. I would call my family randomly to share my excitement about this film. I've written and filmed things in the past that I wasn't very passionate about and the difference was monumental. I was driven to tell a raw, personal story, yet keep the audience hooked until the very end.

I’d gotten a Maneki Neko (waving cat) from an arcade. As I was trying to sleep, I watched this tiny figurine wave over and over again in the dark. It was terrifying. I got up and wrote a short film about it, not with any intention of making it. A couple of years later, I came across the script and remembered how much it made me laugh while writing it. From there, I integrated some personal aspects like the stress of college and miscommunication with family members.

My favorite part of being on set is the moments between filming.This was made during a period when my friends and I had graduated from film school and started venturing into professional work. This short film felt like it could be one of the last shorts we University of Utah alumni got to make together. I made this behind-the-scenes mockumentary to capture the laughter, inside jokes, and ridiculous conversations between filming. It’s mostly scripted, but some of the best moments were spontaneous.

I came across this story while browsing through articles. The title made me laugh, but after reading through the author's experience, it stayed with me for months. I found their Instagram and asked if I could tell it through a short film. As someone with depression, I wanted to make something about suicide prevention while still being comedic.