Han

A young Korean woman is haunted by a ghostly figure, in the aftermath of her mother's death.

  • Esther Um
    Writer
    Roadtrip, LATE, Cupid, Han, Blue Hour
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    한
  • Project Type:
    Short Script
  • Genres:
    Horror, Drama, Cultural
  • Number of Pages:
    9
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Korean
  • First-time Screenwriter:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • New York Script Awards
    New York, NY
    May 4, 2023
    Best Horror Script
  • HORROR Underground Film & Screenplay Festival
    Montreal. Quebec
    May 2, 2023
    Official Selection
  • Best Script Awards - London
    London, England
    May 3, 2023
    Best Super Short
  • Paris Screenplay Awards
    Paris, France
    Finalist
  • Big Apple Film and Screenplay Competition
    New York, NY
    April 28, 2023
    Quarter-finalist
  • Santa Barbara International Screenplay awards
    Santa Barbara, CA, USA
    Semi-finalist
  • New York Screenwriting Awards
    New York, NY, USA
    Honorable Mention
  • ROYAL SOCIETY OF TELEVISION & MOTION PICTURE AWARDS

    Outstanding Acheivement
Writer Biography - Esther Um

Esther (she/her/they/them) was born in Seoul, South Korea. They moved to the U.S with their family at eight years old. They graduated from NYU Tisch School of the Art in 2021, earning a BFA Drama and a BA in History. At NYU, she trained at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and Stonestreet Studios. At NYU, have studied method acting and have experience with both theatre and on-camera acting.
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Since graduating she has been working with CPM Talent Management. She has taken part in several short films in the past year including Roadtrip, which she wrote and acted in. Roadtrip has screened at multiple film festivals, including Cat Fly or Die Halloween Film Fest, October Film Festival, and Yale Summer Cabaret: Summer of Love Film Festival. Their short films, LATE and Cupid were also accepted into the Stonestreet Screenwriting contest and produced into short films by Stonestreet Studios. In 2023, their short screenplay, Han, was awarded Best Horror Script at the New York Script Awards, Best Super Short at the Best Script Awards - London, finalist at the Paris Screenwriting Awards, and semi-finalist at the Santa Barbara Screenwriting Awards. That same year, their screenplay, Blue Hour became an Official Selection for the Santa Dev International Film Festival.
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Esther is also the film festival coordinator for One & Other Productions, a production company that is dedicated to leveraging narrative content from underrepresented voices. As the festival coordinator, she is in communication with globally and regionally recognized film festivals, advocating for projects headlined and worked on mainly by artists of multi-cultural and marginalized identities. In February of 2023, they received accreditation as a film industry professional from Festival de Cannes and was granted the Marche du Film badge to attend the festival this year in person.
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As a storyteller, arts administrator, and budding producer, Esther is passionate about advocating and uplifting artists of the global majority and traditionally marginalized identities

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Writer Statement

Han or "한" is a concept of an emotion that is integral to Korean culture, described to be similar to immense grief or a feeling of resentment. It is also a common Korean last name.

This screenplay incorporates elements of Korean folklore, specifically the virgin ghost, which is one of the few feminine mythological creatures in Korean history.

This script is dedicated to children of immigrants, who find it difficult at times to understand their experiences and consolidate their gratitude for their parents' hard work with their desire for independence.

Han is a screenplay for a proof-of-concept film.