Dramatic Special Jury Award for Debut Feature at Sundance this year, “Bedford Park” has its international premiere at the Toronto Film Festival, ahead of a U.S. theatrical release by Sony Pictures Classics. Speaking with Variety, director Stephanie Ahn and lead actors Moon Choi (“Anarchist From Colony”) and Son Sukku (“Sense8,” “My Liberation Notes”) discussed the surprising journey of bringing Ahn’s semi-autobiographical script to cinemas. It’s about the experience of having love expressed in a very different way in my Korean home and outside of home, in the United States.” This tension is embodied by Audrey, a physical therapist with a repressed fighting spirit and slightly kinky sexual encounters.
When she meets Eli, a Korean American adoptee, in not-so-ideal circumstances, their relationship blossoms into a romance that redefines them. The story unfolds in the New Jersey suburbs, where Audrey goes back to live with her parents. I read it in one sitting.” This project has been the longest the actress has ever waited to film, as COVID, Hollywood strikes and lack of funding kept threatening production.
It changed my understanding of many scenes.” Throughout, the script remained the project’s fixed point. It changed considerably over the years, shifting from a family drama into a love story. I wanted to make the feeling of them getting together feel inevitable — but not predictable,” says Ahn.
To achieve this idea, the movie constantly subverts expectations. It often brings the characters together in the same physical space, while their minds are adrift. This tension culminates in an emotional scene where Audrey and Eli are in the car, listening to the “Rocky” soundtrack.
An ex-wrestler, Eli dances to the theme while Audrey smiles at his corny enthusiasm, before she truly listens and the music bring her to tears. Let’s take it out and not have an end goal. Let’s just have you guys go wherever you’re going when the song plays.
And they nailed it.” With the movie being all about the characters’ relationships, Ahn needed a powerful chemistry. But, while she cast Moon Choi early on, finding Eli proved to be a challenge. His part was originally written for a Caucasian American actor.
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