Private Project

Hello, Goodbye

Sarah reconnects with her estranged cousin, Minha, during Minha's layover in Los Angeles on her way back home to South Korea. Over the course of the night, Sarah and Minha's unresolved feelings of grief and heartbreak rise to the surface.

  • Chris Lee
    Director
  • Chris Lee
    Writer
  • Monica Moon
    Producer
  • Shiona Lee
    Key Cast
  • Chris Yejin
    Key Cast
    Spa Night, Ms. Purple
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    안녕, 안녕
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    27 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 25, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English, Korean
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    1.85:1
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Pasadena International Film Festival
    North Hollywood
    United States
    April 8, 2024
    World Premiere
    Best Actress - Shiona Lee
  • Los Angeles Lift-Off Film Festival
  • Buffalo International Film Festival
    Buffalo, New York
    United States
    East Cost Premiere
    Best Narrative Short
  • Silicon Valley Asian Pacific FilmFest
  • Arpa International Film Festival
Director Biography - Chris Lee

Chris Lee is a Korean American filmmaker based in Los Angeles. After graduating from USC's School of Cinematic Arts, Chris has worked on various film projects, ranging from feature films, short films, short documentaries, music videos, and commercials.

At USC, Chris was selected as one of four directors to direct a senior thesis film. His thesis film, "A Sidewalk Becomes a Street" (2019) was an official selection at the 2019 Catalina Film Festival, 2020 Fargo Film Festival, and 2020 London International Filmmaker Festival. "A Sidewalk Becomes a Street" was later licensed by ShortsTV and premiered on Shorts TV's U.S. DTVA channel.

In 2018, he also worked as a production assistant on Ava DuVernay's "A Wrinkle in Time" (2018) and served as the second assistant editor on Justin Chon's "Ms. Purple" (2019).

Chris is passionate about personal stories that explore the nature of humanity, often exploring interpersonal relationships through the lens of identity, empathy, and family.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

What do we do with the pain that we carry throughout our lives?

There is a quote that goes, "healing begins not where our pain is taken away, but where it can be shared and seen as part of a larger pain." To me, this quote represents my aspirations for making 'Hello, Goodbye' - to use the medium of film to explore this larger connection we can have with another human being through the vulnerability of our brokenness. Hoping that in a safe space, we can discover or be reminded again that we are not so alone as we may think. And that perhaps it is through sharing our weaknesses and failures, more than our strengths and accomplishments, that help connect us with one another.

I was first inspired to make this film when I had an encounter in 2022 that triggered painful memories of a romantic breakup that I thought I had recovered from throughout the past few years. Yet somehow in a single moment, waves of unresolved pain resurfaced immediately... And in my attempt to process these difficult feelings, I began writing the script for what eventually became 'Hello, Goodbye.'

However, more than just the processing of heartbreak from a breakup, I wanted to explore the different natures of grief itself, in the case of the loss of a loved one, of apathy, and of regret... As the character, Minha, says in the film, I find that we go through life experiencing many "little deaths," and I wanted to make a film where our "little deaths" or our hidden pain, grief, and brokenness can be seen and shared with another human being... wondering if it could truly be able to be seen as part of a “larger pain.”