Brigham Young University students received a $30,000 grant to create a short film that had been years in the making.
The short film, “첫째 First” (pronounced cheot-jae first, 첫째 is Korean for first), is a student-led project that has utilized help from professional mentors. The film touches on themes of domestic violence through the eyes of the oldest daughter in a mixed Korean-American and Christian home.
According to the film’s Instagram page, immigrant women in the U.S. experience domestic violence at a rate of 49%, which is 3 times the national average. When married or divorced to a U.S. citizen, the rate jumps to 59.5%.
That statistic is part of what empowered BYU commercial music student, Michelle Cheuk, to write and direct the film. Being the eldest daughter in a mixed Asian home gave her a perspective that she wanted to pursue creatively.
“The nature of the project itself was really caring about underrepresented voices from the start,” Cheuk said.
Money for the project came directly from the Laycock Endowment for Creative Collaboration in the Arts, which provides funding for projects done by students and faculty in the College of Fine Arts and Communications.
Recent Media Arts Studies graduate Walker Nigbur produced the film. His reason for joining the project was the “clarity of voice” that was present. He explained that the project had a very specific goal and message it was trying to portray and that it achieved it beautifully.
“It has such huge clarity of voice, and there’s so much belief behind it,” Nigbur said. “Of course I want to work on something that has clarity and that people care about.”
At least 30 students from across Utah gathered to help work on the project. Most students were from BYU, but there were also some from BYU-Idaho, Southern Utah University, University of Utah and Utah Valley University. Professional mentors helped guide students throughout the process, and have led to actual jobs for some of the students.
Ethan Kartchner, a professional mentor and first assistant director on the project, has been in the film industry for around 12 years. He was drawn to the project because of his appreciation for students gaining experience on a working part of a professional film set.
“To this day, this is probably one of my favorite projects I’ve ever been a part of,” Kartchner said. “Simply because of how professional the set was run, but also the story and how delicately it was told.”
Receiving the grant, writing and casting were the most time-consuming parts before the filming began. However, filming only took a week and, according to Kartchner, was very efficient.
Cheuk mentioned that because there is not a lot of Korean representation in Utah, some actors were flown out to shoot. Within the film, there are four main characters. Eesul, Umma, Areum and Dad all carried the story’s emotional power. Umma, which is Korean for mom, was played by Abin Andrews. Ben Burnett played Dad and Eve Lee played Areum, the youngest daughter. The story is centered around the oldest daughter Eesul, played by Mari Southgate.
“I’ve loved seeing communities bubble up over the recent years. As eldest daughters coming from Asian or mixed-Asian communities, growing up there were things that we trudged through and championed ourselves,” Cheuk said. “Now in adulthood, we realized that there are a ton of us and now these communities are being formed.”
The name of the film, “첫째 First,” came from the story which revolves around Eesul’s perspective as the eldest daughter in a family facing multiple struggles. The film was inspired by two songs, including “A Child’s Prayer” by Janice Kapp Perry and a Korean lullaby entitled “자장가” (pronounced jajang-ga).
“A lot of the film focuses on the parentification of this oldest child who now has to watch out for her younger sister because her parents aren’t in a place to do that,” Nigbur said. “It’s a really tender story and very personal to a lot of our crew.”
The film is currently in the post-production phase and is expected to have its private premiere at the beginning of August. “첫째 First” will officially release to the public in 2027.
Because of the film’s heavy subject matter, Cheuk wants the project to start conversations within audiences and the community about these topics. With the help and partnership of nonprofit organizations, there are plans to have a panel at the premiere and others like it across the state regarding domestic violence.
“At these panels we will be discussing these topics and trying to model what conversation around these topics can look like,” Cheuk said. “We will discuss basic survivorship advocacy, essentially trying to make safe spaces to talk about this.”
While domestic violence is not an easy topic to navigate, the crew hopes that the audience can still feel a childlike sense of wonder while watching.
“The story in-and-of itself does a really beautiful job at bringing awareness to a really ugly subject because it’s through the point of view of a child,” Kartchner said. “The story is essential in how we talk about domestic violence and mixed culture marriages.”
Cheuk and Nigbur hope that audiences see the film not only to be informed, but to also be entertained.
“I hope audiences can pay attention to what they take away from it,” Cheuk said. “It was written with the intention of connecting with your inner child.”
To track the film’s progress and release, follow its official Instagram page @firstshortfilm_official.
