It all started with a simple request from a mother to her daughter: “Will you teach me how to edit?”

Umma’s Cut is a short documentary that follows Saehee Yoon, a spirited Korean immigrant woman in her 50s, as she embarks on her first creative journey in film editing.

In her earlier life, she followed the path expected of her—focusing on education, marriage, and family. Later, after divorce, she worked in corporate roles while raising her two daughters as a single parent. She was always the one encouraging them to explore their passions, even as her own creativity remained largely unexpressed. Now, decades later, she has asked me, her filmmaker daughter, to guide her through editing for the first time.

Instead of standing only behind her children’s aspirations, Saehee begins to step into her own creativity, revealing new dimensions of who she is and giving voice to parts of herself that have long gone unseen.

Umma’s Cut is a tender portrait of creativity arriving late in life and of a mother-daughter bond reshaped through filmmaking. 

When my mom first asked me to teach her how to edit, I laughed it off. It felt like one of those random mom requests, sweet but not something I thought would last. But the more I thought about it, the more it stayed with me. Why did she want to learn editing now, in her fifties? What was she hoping to say?

My mom has always been my first audience. Whenever I start a new project, I call her. She gets excited. She listens. She tells me I’m lucky to do what I love, and sometimes she even pitches her own creative ideas. I started to wonder if part of her wished she had been given the same chance.

This film is an attempt to slow down and ask those questions. I am not trying to interview her. I am trying to see her. The editing lessons are only the surface. Beneath them is a deeper story about creativity, motherhood, aging, and what it means to keep exploring these things.

In making Umma’s Cut, I am not just helping my mom learn how to tell a story. I am helping her tell her own.

At its core, Umma’s Cut is about more than a woman in her 50s learning to edit; it’s about what unfolds when someone who never had the chance to pursue a creative path finally takes the leap. It’s a story of motherhood, aging, sacrifice, and the courage to embrace creativity later in life. It’s an intimate portrait of my mom and all the life that is still ahead of her.

The story will unfold through experiences that draw out her creative spirit and long-hidden dreams. A family camping trip, one of her greatest joys, will serve as a setting for her to take the camera into her own hands and begin expressing herself. My sister’s perspective as a daughter will offer insight into my mom’s sacrifices, ambitions, and the possibility of pursuing dreams later in life. My grandmother will bring in a generational layer, revisiting the creative side of my mom that was never fully realized or maybe never existed growing up. Interwoven with these moments will be my mom’s own “confessionals,” recorded during her editing process, where she reflects on what she is learning and what it reveals about herself. Together, these perspectives shape a portrait of a woman not only supporting others but finally uncovering her own voice.

By grounding the film in the everyday rhythms of our family, I hope to preserve not only my mom’s voice but also her humor and imagination. I want the film to feel like stepping into our home, shaped by the best-friend-like bond we share.

Stylistically, I am drawn to films that feel observational, where meaning comes through in small everyday moments. I want this to feel like being in the room with us: imperfect, layered, and real.

The purpose of this campaign is to support the post production and distribution of our film. We want to give this story the best runway it can to reach the people who may need it the most. Your donations will allow us to get this film to the finish line and in front of the right audiences at festivals, community screenings, and beyond. This story is one that will live and die by the community that builds around it. It’s not flashy- nor do we want it to be. We believe that the intimacy of our film allows for it to be more universal. By supporting our film, you give us the opportunity to let the world see Umma shine.

This film is deeply personal to me, but I believe its impact extends far beyond my family. Stories of middle-aged women, and especially Asian American women, stepping into creative pursuits are rarely told. Too often, women of my mom’s generation put their own passions aside in service of family, work, and survival. To see someone like her, a Korean immigrant woman in her fifties, take up something as daunting and technical as editing is profoundly moving. In an era where we’ve seen an increase of attacks on and ostracization of elder asian communities, it’s imperative that we showcase their real lives and ambitions to set the narrative straight.

Umma’s Cut is a reminder that creativity isn’t bound by age, gender, or background. It challenges the idea that it’s “too late” to begin, and it affirms that the spark of curiosity and joy can be reignited at any stage of life. For me, it’s also an act of honoring my mother: recognizing the sacrifices she’s made, while celebrating her courage to try something new for herself. By sharing this story, I hope audiences see not only her journey, but also reflections of their own—proof that anyone, at any point, can choose to begin again.