Ken Jeong & Jae Suh Park Move to Wyoming in ‘A Great Divide’ Trailer
by Alex Billington
October 28, 2024
Source: YouTube
“Sometimes it feels like our country is at war with itself.” Gravitas Ventures has revealed the official trailer for an indie film titled A Great Divide, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker Jean Shim. This premiered last year at the Bentonville Film Fest, playing at the Heartland & Hawaii Film Festivals as well, though this is the first time we’ve encountered it. Always good to discover more “where did this come from?” indie gems. The Lee family leave the Bay Area for a fresh start living in the rural expanses of Wyoming, only to encounter hostility, racism, and xenophobia in their new small town community. How they confront these issues will break them – or make them stronger. A Great Divide also focuses on their son Benjamin, played Emerson Min, struggling with his new life. Jae Suh Park and Ken Jeong co-star as his parents, along with MeeWha Alana Lee as Grandma, Jaime McShane, Margaret Cho, Marshall Allman, Seamus Dever, West Mulholland, and Miya Cech (from the “Avatar: The Last Airbender” series). This looks like a real heartfelt, earnest, beautifully-shot story unafraid to deal with the rotten truth about American racism, while still being a love letter to America and all that it can provide. This trailer really grabbed my attention.
Here’s the full official trailer (+ poster) for Jean Shim’s film A Great Divide, direct from YouTube:
When a Korean American family relocates from California to a small town in Wyoming, they don’t expect the town residents to pose a bigger threat than the bison, moose, and snakes they encounter at every turn. But such is the chilling wilderness… The Lee family are new to Wyoming, seeking a fresh start. Dad (Ken Jeong) thinks it’s best to try to fit in, while Mom (Jae Suh Park) refuses to dull her reactions to any of the unwelcoming town residents. As for teenager Ben (Emerson Min), he just misses his best friend Ellie (Miya Cech). Together the family must navigate their outsider status as well as confrontations with a tight-knit community resistant to change. A Great Divide is directed by the up-and-coming filmmaker Jean Shim, making her feature directorial debut after one other short film previously. The screenplay is written by Jeff Yang and Jean Shim & Martina Nagel. It’s produced by Jean Shim, Brian Yang, and Jeff Yang. This initially premiered at the 2023 Bentonville Film Festival last year & showed at a few others. Gravitas Ventures will debut Shim’s A Great Divide film in select US theaters + on VOD starting November 26th, 2024 this fall.
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