Meet the Team

DIRECTOR

Jonathan Moon

Jonathan's diverse career spanned fashion, bio-research, and technology. However, it was his enlistment in the U.S. Navy at 19 that set him on a transformative path. After completing a graduate degree in electrical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and exploring Europe, he settled in Austin, Texas, to pursue his passion for film. Initially drawn to acting, Jonathan appeared in short films and the TV series 'Walker.' But his affinity for the creative process behind the camera soon took precedence. He began writing, filming, and directing his own short films and music videos, aiming to engage audiences on a cerebral level with abstract and immersive elements. In his debut short film, "Fade," Jonathan explored the solace of music for a protagonist with Lewy Body Dementia. "Shelter from Thieves," a music video, skillfully rearranged timelines to deepen storytelling. Currently, his third film delves into the emotional journey of a man coping with the loss of his wife after 35 years, guiding him towards closure. Jonathan aims to create interactive experiences where viewers become part of the story. His diverse background and technical expertise enrich his narratives, forging connections beyond the screen.

PRODUCER

Andrew Lee

Andrew is an Austin-based film producer who launched his career in 2006 overseeing the production of regional and national TV commercials and winning multiple $100k cash prizes for short films. Since then, he's produced and co-produced on award winning feature films and digital series that have been distributed theatrically, digitally, and broadcast on TV by distributors and outlets such as MGM / Orion Pictures, IFC Films / Sundance Selects, Rooster Teeth, and PBS. In August 2018, Andrew spearheaded the country’s largest marketing activation event for Crazy Rich Asians in Austin, TX with 3,000+ attendees, celebrity appearances, curated art installations, and an outdoor Asian night market. In Fall 2018, he helped conceptualize and review submissions for the Center for Asian American Media’s Fellowship program. He also recently finished his term as Board President of the Austin Asian American Film Festival.

INTERVIEW DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY (SK)

Kim Sperling

Born in 1975 in Seoul, Kim was adopted by German parents and given the name Kim Oliver Sperling. Growing up in Germany, he had little connection to his Korean heritage until later stages of his photographic studies. This sparked his curiosity about his Korean identity and led him to connect with other adoptees and 2nd generation Koreans in Germany. In 2005, he participated in a group show in Berlin, which made him realize his lack of knowledge about Korea. He focused on the few artifacts from his Korean past and created the series "K76-48." Wanting to deepen his understanding of Korea, he joined the IIIHR adoptee program in Gimhae and Seoul in 2006. Inspired by the lives of adoptees living in Korea, he worked on the "uri nara project" (2007-2008), combining portraits and interviews. After graduating in 2008, he got married in Korea and moved back to Germany, where he worked as a photographer. Supported by a scholarship, he explored Korean identity through his "Dokdo" project in 2010 and documented the Korean miners and nurses in Germany in "Kyopo/Gastarbeiter" (2013). In 2022, he and his family relocated to Yongin where he is currently preparing a documentary feature about an American adoptee and his Korean grandmother.

INTERVIEW DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY (USA)

Kurt Sensenbrenner

Kurt is a freelance director, producer, and cinematographer. His documentary work can be seen on some of the most influential platforms including peacock, PBS, and More Perfect Union. Kurt’s most recent collaborations have been with Patton Oswalt, NBC, Suite Spot, and the Patton Veterans Project.
In 2017, his debut feature length documentary From Mass to the Mountain aired on PBS and helped cause legislative change in Eastern Panama–where the documentary takes place.
Kurt is a two time Telly Award winner, one for his aerial cinematography while filming air-to-air wildfire fighting operations and one for Education and Training for his work as a video producer at the AOPA Air Safety Institute.
In 2022, a short documentary he directed, produced, and edited about bio-indicating butterflies won best in category at the National Geographic’s Santiago Wild Film Festival. The documentary was acquired by a distributor, the details of which are not yet public.

ADVISOR

Julayne Lee

Julayne Lee is an overseas adopted Korean poet & artivist. Her debut collection of poems Not My White Savior was on Bitch Media's Bitchreads: 15 Books Feminists Should Read in March and Entropy's Best of 2018: Best Poetry Books & Poetry Collections. Not My White Savior has been taught globally in Freshman Lit, Race & Ethnicity & other courses. Julayne has read and spoken on adoption in the U.S. & Korea, attending conferences such as the Korean American Adoptee Adoptive Family Network (KAAN) and International Korean Adoptee Associations (IKAA). She co-founded Adoptee Solidarity Korea - Los Angeles (ASK - LA) and served on the boards of AK Connection (Minnesota), Adoptee Solidarity Korea (ASK) in Seoul, IbyangIN (global) and others. She is the producer of Our Space, an adoptee-centered series of readings and open mics in Los Angeles, CA. In addition, she has facilitated the writing workshop Healing Through Writing the Unsaid in Korea and the US in partnership with local adopted Korean associations. She has served as a consultant for film scripts by adopted Koreans to provide guidance for authenticity and candidness. You can find her writing in The Washington Post, The Nervous Breakdown & elsewhere. @julayneelle

KOREAN LANGUAGE PRODUCER

Annie Ko

As the critically-acclaimed siren of the Korean Music Award-nominated electro-pop duo < Love X Stereo >, Annie Ko is a mesmerizing, multifaceted, multi-talented artist known for her kaleidoscopic vocals, soaring synth melodies, and scintillating songwriting skills. Once an aspiring astronomer, Annie defied conventional wisdom by ditching her postgraduate studies at the prestigious Seoul National University and fully devoting herself to not only perform at music festivals around the world and feature on numerous Netflix K-drama soundtracks but also pursue special passion projects near and dear to her heart. In addition to spending her spare time as a bilingual voice-over actress, freelance magazine writer, and foreign TV news fixer, she has also worked closely with social justice organizations such as the Women’s Human Rights Institute of Korea and the Humane Society International. Among her many beloved collaborators over the years, the highly coveted studio DJ position in her band is currently filled by her happycore rescue dog, DeeJay.

BRANDING + SOCIAL MEDIA DIRECTOR

Eva Suskind

Eva Suskind is Washington DC based film creative, graphic designer and Korean adoptee/advocate. In 2025, she graduated Magna Cum Laude from James Madison University. Shaped by childhood experiences in local adoptee organizations and her love of film, Eva received a BA in Korean Language and Digital Video and Cinema. In 2023, she also attended Yonsei International Summer School, deepening her Korean language, historical, and cultural fluency. In 2025, in the wake of Korean policy changes that threatened the safety of archival adoption records, she joined Emergency Action for Records Storage, a Seoul-based adoptee advocacy organization. Collaborating with other adoptee advocates and researchers, she utilized her background in digital media to empower overseas adoptees with crucial information regarding record access and preservation. Eva strives to amplify adoptee voices and complicate conventional narratives through film.

COMPOSER

Matt
Pelligrino

Matthew Jihoon Pellegrino is an award-winning composer, Fulbright researcher, and devoted music educator. He has enjoyed an eclectic musical upbringing; one which combines Western classical, traditional Korean music, and a brief stint in a metal band. Uncompromising in his work, Pellegrino seeks to create music that engages equally with casual audiences as well as the most serious of listeners. In his music he most enjoys exploring personal themes while incorporating touches of dark humor. Matthew's work has been performed in New York, Chicago, Boston, Houston, Baltimore, Seoul, and Finland. In 2022 he was awarded a Fulbright Research Grant to conduct his doctoral research on traditional music in South Korea. He was then commissioned by the Dareumi Gahteum Project to compose and arrange an evening of music combining elements of the Western classical canon with Korean traditional melodies through an ensemble comprised of instruments from both cultures. His work, Anxiety Cycles, received its premiere at Symphony Center, Chicago IL as part of a co-commission by Sound Mind and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago for their musicians and mental health initiative. Dear Mother: A Transracial Adoption Story received a virtual ballet production in collaboration with Boston Korean Adoptees and KAAN: Korean American Adoptive Family Network. Born as Jihoon Lee (이지훈) in South Korea, Matthew was raised on Long Island, New York. He completed his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees with Oscar Bettison at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University, where he received the Dean's Doctoral Fellowship. Equally active as a teacher, Matt currently serves on faculty at New York University's Steinhardt School, and directs the composition and songwriting program at the Usdan Summer Camp for the Arts.