Footprints in the Sand
- Ejun Mary Hong and Justin Nam Duong
- Cinema and Media Studies Program, College of Arts & Sciences, Department of Music, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Undergraduate Program in Fine Arts and Design
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Student Creative Production Grant
Still from ‘Footprints in the Sand’. Courtesy of the artist.
Footprints in the Sand is a mixed-media animated documentary that invites four lymphoma patients from South Korea to share their stories—a collection inspired by Ejun Hong’s family member, who, despite her own battle with lymphoma, anonymously helps other cancer patients on a Korean lymphoma community website by translating foreign medical research. The production team includes director Ejun Mary Hong, composer Justin Nam Duong, and four Sayre High School students whom Ejun Hong mentors in animation and filmmaking. Incorporating stop-motion puppet animation, hand-drawn animation on mulberry paper, and natural materials such as sand, flowers, plants, and water, the film symbolizes life and death while reflecting the beauty found in the patients’ resilience. The production team aims to create a space for sharing and listening, empowering those who are struggling.