After Yang
Ajyal Competition - Ajyal Film Festival 2022
Kogonada / Feature Narrative / United States of America / 2022 / 96 min / Colour / In English / Arabic subtitles
Rated: Parental guidance is advised for viewers under the age of 13. Individuals under the age of 13 are not admitted into cinemas unless accompanied by an individual aged 18 or older.
Synopsis
Based on a short story by Alexander Weinstein, ‘After Yang’ is a compelling drama set in the alarmingly near future where domestic robots pervade our daily lives. A young couple, Jake and Kyra, adopt a daughter named Mika. To help her understand her place of birth and culture more, they also purchase an android as a carer and teacher—Yang. Forming a strong bond with her new companion, Mika is inconsolable when Yang malfunctions. As a discontinued model that was bought outside of the conventional channels, Jake faces an existential quest to repair Yang.
In the process, Jake uncovers secrets of the android’s previous life buried deep inside Yang’s core. Watching the fragmented memories of another from the outside, Jake realises his own life has been passing him by too. Through introspection and self-discovery, Jake begins to bridge the gaps in his family and reconnects with his wife and daughter across a distance he didn’t know was there. A reflective and thoroughly intriguing film, ‘After Yang’ is a contemplation on humanity, empathy, kinship and questions the nature of what it means to be truly alive.
About the Director
Kogonada—the name is a pseudonym—is a South Korean-born American filmmaker. He is known for his video essays that analyse the content, form, and structure of various films and television series. The essays frequently use narration and editing as lenses, and often highlight a director’s aesthetic. Kogonada is a regular contributor to Sight & Sound magazine and is frequently commissioned by The Criterion Collection to create supplemental videos for its home-video releases. Kogonada’s debut film, ‘Columbus’, starring John Cho and Haley Lu Richard, premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. He wrote and directed his second feature ‘After Yang’ for A24, starring Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith.
Credits
- Director
- Kogonada
- Screenwriter
- Kogonada
- Producer
- Theresa Park, Andrew Goldman, Caroline Kaplan, Paul Mezey
- Executive Producer
- Philipp Engelhorn
- Cinematographer
- Benjamin Loeb, FNF
- Editor
- Kogonada
- Production Designer
- Alexandra Schaller
- Sales Company
- A24
- Music
- Aska Matsumiya, Ryuichi Sakamoto
- Distributor
- Front Row Filmed Entertainment
- Cast
- Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Sarita Choudhury, Clifton Collins Jr., Ritchie Coster, Haley Lu Richardson