

Isle Child
Description
Si Miller (Ethan Hwang, Riceboy Sleeps) leads an idyllic life as a teenager in Concord, Massachusetts, reveling in the camaraderie of his baseball teammates and blessed with the unyielding support of his loving parents (Samantha Mathis, Sam Robards). His self-assured personality comes crashing down when he receives a phone call from an adoption agency, informing him of his South Korean birth mother’s illness. The news complicates Si’s perfectly constructed self-image, thrusting him into a complex space between his Korean heritage and his American identity. In his absorbing feature debut, Thomas Percy Kim perceptively and compassionately examines the challenging feelings of otherness that manifest from Si’s precarious circumstances, along with the universal desire to belong. Gorgeous cinematography captures Hwang’s stunning performance and paints a breathtakingly beautiful portrait of Si’s search for his place in the world. —Jordan Klein

Korean American filmmaker Thomas Percy Kim studied film at USC, and counts among his honors a 2024 TIFF x CJ Ent. Fellow, a 2022 Sundance Ignite Fellow, a 2021 Shorts to Feature Lab Fellow, and a 2021 Diverso Minority Report Fellow. His short films include Trejur (2018), Si (2020), and Busan, 1999 (Festival 2022), winner of SFFILM’s Golden Gate Award for Narrative Short. Isle Child is his first feature.
Film Details
LanguageEnglish, Korean
Year2024
Runtime88
CountryUSA, South Korea
DirectorThomas Percy Kim
ProducerLauren Chen, Harrison Allen
Executive ProducerDouglas Choi, Jim Cummings, Han West, Molly Conners, Amanda Bowers, Alex Spatt, Brian Tetsuro Ivie, Malcolm Brainerd
WriterThomas Percy Kim
EditorMónica Salazar, Abby Boyle
CinematographerShane Bagwell
MusicCésar Illera
CastEthan Hwang, Samantha Mathis, Sam Robards
Print SourceBlack Box Features
Closed CaptionsClosed Captions are confirmed for this film
Audio DescriptionAudio Descriptions are not currently confirmed for this film
American Sign Language (ASL) InterpretationAmerican Sign Language Interpretation is not currently scheduled for this film