By Honorary Reporter Ayushi Kharayat from India

Filmmaker Nadine Misong Jin based in New York and Seoul attracted global attention last month after her short film "Silent Voices" was runner-up in the La Chief section of this year's Cannes Film Festival in France. The category honors works by emerging talent from film schools around the world.

Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Chae Hwi-young praised her production for its "quiet but deep resonance," saying she demonstrates the potential of the next generation of Korean cinema and offers inspiration to young filmmakers.

In an email interview from June 5-13, Jin discussed her work and her evolving filmmaking philosophy.

(Left) Nadine Minsong Jin in a picture taken at a photo studio in New York in February 2026 and (Right) official poster for "Silent Voices" (2026) (Nadine Misong Jin)

Produced as her thesis project at Columbia University, where she pursued a degree in film production, the 17-minute film follows a Korean immigrant family in New York and each member's quiet navigation of personal struggles, emotional distance and the challenge of belonging. 

Jin said she avoided dramatic conflict and conventional narratives, opting instead for ordinary movements and the quiet tensions of daily life. She added that her goal was to create "a film in which a great deal happens, but nothing really changes." 

For Jin, silence is a complex emotional language. "It is not merely emotional restraint, it can be a way of protecting oneself or resisting language itself," she said. "When something is articulated into words, some of its meaning is inevitably lost."

Her film challenges common tropes on emotional expression. "When we lack the intelligence to understand 'the other,' we tend to depict them as either silent beings with no agency or as incomprehensible figures," she said. "The film attempts to show what exists beyond that silence."

Working with cinematographer Zheijan Michael Cong, Jin maintained a visual distance from the family, offering only fragments of their inner lives. "I wanted the audience to see only glimpses," she said. "What remains subjective to the characters is expressed more through sound than image."

Beyond immigration and family, "Silent Voices" reflects Jin's broader filmmaking philosophy of rejecting sentimentality and the author's excessive presence under the belief that cinema should create opportunities to encounter perspectives beyond one's own. "Personally, film is an attempt to access 'the other' and remain a humble way of offering new possibilities of seeing and listening," she said.

Jin said the personal elements of her work lie not in her own memories but in how her perspective is translated through form and image. "It is very hard to deal with sentimentality without pouring the director's own ego into the work," she added.

The film was submitted through an American institution but its origin is clear. "I think this film is Korean because I am Korean," she said, adding that questions of identity can be discussed more openly among artists working internationally.

Nadine Misong Jin (second from right) on May 22 poses with the cast and crew of "Silent Voices" at this year's Cannes International Film Festival. (Taehee Kim)

Reflecting on the Cannes festival, Jin said, "Sharing the moment of receiving the award with the team who made this project possible was incredibly rewarding," adding that the event was a valuable opportunity to connect with talented filmmakers worldwide.

Now working on her first feature film, she said filmmaking is not about getting definitive answers but staying curious and remaining attentive to the lives of others.

ljyhwa@korea.kr

*This article was written by a Korea.net Honorary Reporter. Our group of Honorary Reporters are from all around the world, and they share with Korea.net their love and passion for all things Korean.