Chicago ROAR Story Slam 2022 Recap
Finalists: Charlene Choi, Deb Kim, Doug Kim, Chris Kim, Rosita Gonzalez, and Liz Sargent
Judges: Jennie Oh Brown, Joyce Kim, Stephanie H. Kim, Matthew Miller, Sam Yu
Emcee: Mia Park
Performer: Eunji Kim
Credits
Videographer: Janice Chung http://janicechung.com
2nd Videographer + Editor: Young Sun https://www.kimberlyyoungsun.com/
3rd Videographer: Paul Shin https://shin.media/
Motion Designer: Aj Valente http://ajyval.myportfolio.com
Editor: John Hwang https://johnhwang.info/
Designer: Ashley Jihye Jung https://ashleyjihye.com/
Playlist
Highlight Reel
Liz Sargent
1st Place Winner
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LIZ SARGENT is a Korean American adoptee and NY Emmy-winning writer/director. In her work Liz examines themes around adoption, disability, and family. Liz incorporates her background as a choreographer into her commercial and experimental work with films that have premiered at Venice Biennale Danza and Lincoln Center.Her short film STRANGERS’ REUNION was one of five films chosen by Ritz-Carlton and Hearst to be made with mentorship by Mike Figgis and production by RSA Hong Kong. She won a Reel Sisters Fellowship 2022, Asian WomenGiving Circle 2020, and was a top 3 finalist for the SeriesFest Shondaland Directing Mentorship 2022. Liz is a producer with Cyprian Films New York.
Chris Kim
2nd Place Winner
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CHRIS KIM is a former juvenile public defender and currently a lawyer and a Trauma Recovery Coach. He loves poetry and storytelling, particularly as modalities to heal from trauma. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Chris reconnected to poetry through Writing to Wellness, a class offered by Creative Suit land that uses poetry as a tool to navigate through trauma. Chris has shared his stories through Story District in DC and GAPA Theater in San Francisco. Chris is also a burner, Buddhist, yoga teacher, and reiki master. In his free time, he loves to play poongmul, dance, and perform improv comedy.
Charline Choi
Honorable Mention
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CHARLENE CHOI (she/her) is a second-gen Korean American, not to be confused with the Hong Kong actress and singer of the same name. Originally hailing from the suburbs of Indiana, she worked as an English teacher in Korea before moving to Chicago. Currently, she works at Hanul Family Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to serving the Korean American older adult community and the greater multiethnic population in Chicagoland. Charlene loves to collect prints, sing at noraebang, and remember inconsequential trivia. Her friends and family can recognize Charlene a mile away from her loud animal prints and even louder laugh.
Doug Kim
3rd Place Winner
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DOUG KIM was born in 1956 in Minnesota to Korean parents who came to the U.S. as college students in 1949. He spent his adult life trying to understand his identity as a Korean American. Along the way, he has worked for the Smithsonian Institution twice based on his knowledge of Korean culture and martial arts, taught Korean American studies at San Francisco State University, and is Director of Sae Jong Camp in Michigan, where he was served for over 20 years. He is the embarrassingly proud father of twenty-something twins and will celebrate 29 years of marriage to his extremely patient wife this November. Doug explains his desire to present his story like this: “I got some bumps and bruises along the way, and hope that I can help other Korean Americans avoid some of the mistakes I’ve made.”
Rosita Gonzalez
Honorable Mention
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ROSITA GONZÁLEZ is an activist, an artist, and a Korean American adoptee. She serves as Feminism Columnist and is a former editor at the Lost Daughters, an adoptee-centric website. Her activism is rooted in her experiences as an adoptee, a woman of color, and a mother. In November of 2014, she sparked #flipthescript on #NationalAdoptionMonth, an adoptee-centric movement on Twitter, reaching close to 30 million households in 30 days. In 2015, she and her family moved to Seoul for five months. Her writings have appeared in three books and online at the Good Men Project and xojane. She has also told her stories at Madison’s The Moth Grand Slam and at the Listen to Your Mother series.
Deb Kim
Honorable Mention
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DEB 정인 KIM is a multi-hyphenate creative. In 2020, she released her first single on major streaming platforms under the moniker Debset. Her recent work includes dancing for an Amazon commercial, acting for the short film ‘Missile’, and swinging for a developing Broadway musical. She is currently a writer on an all-women creative team for experimental short ‘Scars’, and her next single is set to release this summer. Deb hopes to continue making moves as a gyopo artist.
Photos
