Bleeding Edge is a short narrative film written and directed by Daeyoung Kim as his graduating thesis project for NYU Tisch. The film is about a 16-year-old Korean-American figure skater who must bear the tough-love parenting of her tiger mother, the toxic mind games of her skating coach, and her own insidious self-doubt as she recovers from a nasty leg injury.

Partially inspired by the filmmaker’s own experiences growing up in Korea, the film depicts the harshness of Korean parenting and the immense pressures Korean youths face to succeed in every aspect of their lives. Building on his previous projects like “Mother Tongue,” Daeyoung aims to position Korean culture within a global context in this film. More specifically, he plans to juxtapose Korean parenting methods against a largely White-dominated space like the figure skating community in America, portraying the conflicts that arise.

We hope this stirs conversations around immigrant parents and the general strain immigrants are under to achieve success in a country and environment hellbent on trying to push them out. Especially with the current political climate, this is a very timely and pressing topic—we hope to contribute to the discussions around how we can foster a safe environment for the next generation and underrepresented minorities in society.

Bleeding Edge is currently in pre-production as we organize our casting, locations, and more. We will be filming in the NYC metropolitan area from March 15-20th, 2025. Thank you for your interest in our project, and we appreciate any support we can get!

Daeyoung Kim is a senior in the Undergraduate Film & Television Production program at NYU Tisch, concentrating on directing, editing, and cinematography. He aspires to create art that pushes people to look beyond their subjectivity and confront the uncomfortable truths about our world. He is particularly eager to explore cultural identity and conflict, spurred on by his multicultural upbringing growing up in and around Korean and Western cultures. More of his work can be found on his website, linked here: https://dyksk39.myportfolio.com.