Private Project

Sadly Never Before

A woman’s search for happiness leads her through a continuous loop, where the pursuit of ‘Happily Ever After’ keeps her in a state of ‘Sadly Never Before.’

  • Dakyum Breanna Lee
    Director
  • Dakyum Breanna Lee
    Writer
  • Jun Koh
    Writer
  • Andrew Irvin
    Producer
  • Astara Ball
    Producer
  • Chantelle Zentveld
    Key Cast
  • Kyle Stutz
    Director of Photography
  • Arthur Chen
    Assistant Director
  • Sasha Guselnikov
    1st Assistant Camera
  • Nathan Pham
    Gaffer
  • Miko Yamashita
    Production Designer
  • Dakyum Breanna Lee
    Editor
  • Sukwon Jeong
    Colorist
  • Riley Hunt
    Composer
  • Alexandra Barron
    Sound Design and Foley
  • Jin Cho
    Poster Designer
  • Sara Serrano
    Set Photographer
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    5 minutes 15 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 5, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    800 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Australia
  • Country of Filming:
    Australia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - Northwestern University & University of Melbourne
Director Biography - Dakyum Breanna Lee

Dakyum Breanna Lee is a filmmaker, entrepreneur, and student at Northwestern University with a mission to protect and preserve the childhood dreams of people around the world. Inspired by revisiting her childhood days when she felt shiny regardless of societal standards, Breanna explores narratives that paint the journey to reconnect with one’s true self in her films, books, and her startup, Tedio: a transparent and editable algorithm for child media. Through each project, Breanna continues her commitment to creating impactful stories that inspire audiences to embrace their inner dreams and identities.

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Director Statement

Is ‘Happily Ever After’ a time in the nostalgic film-faded past, or a distant, idealistic future? Either way, the present is dismissed as the ‘Sadly Never Before’ of countless other times. The distance between us and the HEA never closes, but that constant space of the SNB has its point:

Ironically, the ‘perfection of nature’ is the opposite of the purity we strive for. Existing in ambiguity, we are as vast as nature, already perfected in dimensions we will never understand. "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards," said Søren Kierkegaard—which may hint that the way we are, sadly never before, may be the state of happily ever after.