Why did Stephanie Ahn make Bedford Park?

Stephanie Ahn made Bedford Park because she wanted to see a film that explored the Korean American experience at a deeper personal level. She said existing Korean or Asian American stories had opened doors for her but often touched on that experience only superficially.

What does Stephanie Ahn hope audiences take from Bedford Park?

Ahn hopes Bedford Park connects with people from any cultural background who have lived between two conflicting worlds. She described the film as universal and timeless because sharing such experiences can create a sense of connection.

'Bedford Park' director tells Korean American story she wanted to see

Q: What is Bedford Park about?

Bedford Park follows the relationship between Audrey, a Korean American physical therapist, and Eli, a Korean immigrant adopted by a white family. The film examines their family trauma, personal wounds and struggles with cultural identity.

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Summary

Stephanie Ahn said in Busan on Thursday that her longing for a film deeply exploring the Korean American experience inspired her first feature, Bedford Park. The film portrays a bond between Korean American physical therapist Audrey and Eli, a Korean immigrant adopted by a white family. It won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature at Sundance. Ahn said the film explores family trauma, cultural dislocation and the experience of living between contrasting worlds.

Key Facts

Moon Choi plays Audrey, whose experiences include repeatedly interpreting for her parents because their mother language is not English.
Son Suk-ku plays Eli, a Korean immigrant adopted by a white family.
Ahn said her own upbringing in a Korean American immigrant family provided the basis for Audrey’s character.
Ahn visited Korea to screen the film at the Busan International Film Festival for the first time in more than 25 years.
Ahn cited Lee Chang-dong’s 2007 film Secret Sunshine as an influence she admires for its quiet storytelling and emotional impact.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 8, 2026 8:39 pm KST

From left, director Stephanie Ahn and actors Moon Choi and Son Suk-ku pose during an outdoor stage greeting for 'Bedford Park' at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae District, Wednesday. Yonhap — From left, director Stephanie Ahn and actors Moon Choi and Son Suk-ku pose during an outdoor stage greeting for "Bedford Park" at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae District, Wednesday. Yonhap

BUSAN — Stephanie Ahn, director of the American drama film "Bedford Park," said Thursday her longing to see a film that deeply explores the Korean American experience inspired her to make her first feature.

The film, which won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature at Sundance, portrays an unlikely bond between Korean American physical therapist Audrey (Moon Choi) and Eli (Son Suk-ku), a Korean immigrant who was adopted by a white family.

"There are so many Korean American or Asian American stories that have been made that I so admire, and they have certainly opened doors for me as well, but I felt they touched upon the Korean or Asian American experience in sort of a surface level," Ahn told reporters in a group interview held on the occasion of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF).

"There wasn't a story that reached that made me feel like I was seen personally deep inside," she said.

Director Stephanie Ahn speaks during an outdoor stage greeting for 'Bedford Park' at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae District, Wednesday. Yonhap — Director Stephanie Ahn speaks during an outdoor stage greeting for "Bedford Park" at the 31st Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan's Haeundae District, Wednesday. Yonhap

With a keen sense of authenticity, "Bedford Park," does not gloss over the backgrounds or surroundings of the two lead characters, but lays bare their family trauma and personal wounds of the past and present — growing up under distressed parents, the lasting suffering that comes from this type of parenting and, in Audrey's case, having to constantly interpret for her parents whose mother language is not English.

At the same time, Ahn said "Bedford Park" is something not only for Korean American audiences but for everyone, regardless of their culture, who went through the experience of living in between two contradicting worlds.

"To share these kinds of experiences is what makes me feel connected. And if I had one goal as a filmmaker, it would be to connect with other people through my work," she said, adding that she hopes "Bedford Park" is "universal in a way that is also timeless."

A scene from 'Bedford Park' by Stephanie Ahn, starring Son Suk-ku, left, and Moon Choi / Courtesy of Sundance Institute — A scene from "Bedford Park" by Stephanie Ahn, starring Son Suk-ku, left, and Moon Choi / Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Ahn, whose own experience growing up in a Korean American immigrant family served as the basis for Audrey's character, said her visit to Korea in more than 25 years to screen her film at BIFF has been more emotional than she expected.

"It is just this immediate homecoming, and that is something you cannot explain. It is just something that you feel," she said.

Ahn went onto express her affection for Venice-winning Korean auteur Lee Chang-dong and his 2007 film "Secret Sunshine," noting how he quietly architects his stories in which audiences are later swept away by emotions without knowing.

Given that "Bedford Park" is a film that also navigates parenthood and love, Ahn said the trip to her motherland has been more emotional with her parents seeing the film for the first time here.

"They are not film lovers, and they would be honest with me ... but they felt a very deep emotional grounding of it, and they found it very good," she said, when asked about what her parents thought.

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