Meet Hae Ji Cho | Director, Writer, Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Hae Ji Cho and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Hae Ji, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
If my one life on this planet will someday come to an end regardless of what I do, I may as well go out swinging. Knowing myself, I can either spend my energy going after the things I want or spend it feeling regret for not trying, so I’d rather choose the former. I spent a lot of time being afraid of going after the opportunities I wanted out of fear that others would write off my entire potential if my work weren’t amazing right out of the gate, but turns out that most people are so preoccupied being the protagonists of their own lives that it doesn’t matter nearly as much as we may think. They may judge for a minute but chances are they will move on almost instantly. I could say I’ve been pursuing filmmaking for over ten years, but I feel my real pursuit only began years later when I let my hunger for growth become stronger than my fear of failure.

As someone who’s Korean Brazilian American, I’m lucky to have been exposed to different cultural perspectives on risk-taking, success, and “failure.” I find that the concept of what makes someone “cool” in American culture is often associated with effortlessness as if one must be born naturally rad and it’s some sort of divine right. Finding success in something that comes easily has its rewards, but I don’t find it very interesting or impressive. When you look at what Koreans find cool, a lot of praise goes to those who have worked hard to develop skills over time. Brazilians are also people who are so used to plans going sideways, it’s no wonder we love stories about perseverance. Setbacks and disappointments are a normal part of a challenging journey. They may feel crushing at times, but they provide a chance to reassess and do better in our next attempt to bridge the gap between where we are and where we want to be. At the end of the day, I still walk away with something. Facing the possibility of failure is a privilege of the brave and I’m always proud of myself when I do so.

Please tell us more about your career. We’d love to hear what sets you apart from others, what you are most proud of or excited about. How did you get to where you are today professionally. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way. What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?
As someone who sees art as a connector, it’s funny to think of what would set me apart as an artist. I used to hope I were special, maybe to try to explain why I felt so much loneliness for big chunks of my life, but now I try to move away from that type of language, especially when it comes to my art. Instead, I now say my focus is on being authentic. That’s precisely what opened the doors to friendships and collaborations with creatives who I admire both personally and professionally. Another bonus of showing up authentically is that I feel a lot more comfortable now walking into rooms full of people who know much more than I do and asking them questions if they are open to it. It’s too easy to fall into imposter syndrome but I’m not willing to entertain it. I’m at whatever level I’m at and I’m learning — there should be no shame in that. Once I embraced this, everything in my life improved. I often think about my “character arc.” I’d hate to be a stagnant character with nothing to show but ego. I want to be one who evolves and goes through a story worth telling.

The desire to be in touch with what’s genuine is also very much reflected in my work. My maternal grandfather was revered by our family and our larger community, which meant I heard a lot of flattering stories about him as I was growing up. When I became a caretaker for him in his 80s, I watched him up close and heard plenty of other stories that had never reached my ears until then. All of this started to paint a more complete picture of who he is. He had rough edges I couldn’t have imagined. While my mother was mortified that I was seeing the human side of her hero, I felt he was finally within reach. There were no longer layers of mythology to block my view of him — there was just him. Being able to appreciate him at that point in our relationship, knowing the good and the bad, felt like the purest form of love I could ever get to. Now, when I write or direct, I try to show my characters as full people. You don’t get to have someone who’s a clear hero or clear villain. You get a human being. There’s a lot of gray area in that, so it’s up to you to determine what relationship you want to have with them.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
There’s so much happening in Los Angeles, we have an abundance of options. I’d hit some of the usual suspects: The Last Bookstore, The Great Wall of Los Angeles, the LA River, Echo Park, LACMA, the Broad Museum, Venice Beach or Santa Monica, Getty Villa, and a Hollywood sign hike followed by a visit to the Griffith Observatory. I wouldn’t be a good LA host if I didn’t offer at least some of these. On more personal notes, I’d also want to take them to Smorgasburg, Guerrilla Tacos, a number of other restaurants that shall remain unnamed, the Hammer Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art, Hauser & Wirth, a REVEL event (@revelreadings), and Melrose Trading Post. Selfishly, I’d drag them to POT LA, the pottery studio I’m a member of. It’s one of my favorite spaces in the city because the community there is just so lovely and welcoming. My friends love picking up new activities, so I’d probably suggest we check out what’s going on at Junior High, Playground LA, or at the public libraries around town. I’m taking a pickling class with Gu Grocery through a public library soon and I can think of multiple people I wish were in town to join me.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m a product of all the people I’ve loved and have been loved by. My parents are curious, ambitious people with an insatiable passion for life. They dream big and run full force toward their goals, which can sometimes be both terrifying and exhilarating to witness. I sometimes lay out an idea that I fear may border on being overly ambitious and their response is, “Why not?” And they are right. Why not? They have me constantly questioning whether the limitations I face are truly there or if much of it is self-imposed. They encourage me to approach things from a place of curiosity rather than fear. As my dad says, “‘No’ is something I already have; now I want to see the rest.” I’m also very fortunate to have an inner circle that both grounds and inspires me. Those closest to me do their best to live intentionally and fully, so their thoughts and actions constantly enrich my world. I once read that you are the average of the people you have the most contact with and, if that’s the case, that’s beyond satisfying. My best friends are some of the kindest, most capable people I know and have taught me how invaluable it is to build a strong support system. I’ve been the recipient of tremendous generosity from numerous people in my life. I have teachers from as early as childhood who saw my potential and have continued to celebrate me throughout the years. I’ve had employers advocate for work-life balance and use their voices to amplify mine as I pursued exciting projects outside of the work I did with them. There are colleagues who, instead of treating me as competition, treated me as a collaborator and shared their knowledge with me to create more equitable spaces. I have a lot to be thankful for.

Website: https://www.haejicho.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hjichan

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/haejicho/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HaeJi_Cho

Image Credits
Filmmaker panel photos by Voices With Impact
Photos of Hae Ji Cho by Kevin Alcántar