Back to selection
“Someone on the Verge of Screaming Back at the World” Sujin Jung on Her Student Short Film Showcase Winner Cocoon
Three generations of women clash during a Korean holiday in writer-director Sujin Jung’s Cocoon. Made as her MFA thesis film during her studies at Loyola Marymount University, the film centers on Jisoo (Alexes Josephine Lee), a young girl who experiences anxiety-induced selective mutism. This becomes a point of contention between Jisoo’s mother, Hyunsook (Taehee Kim) and her mother-in-law (Joy Kim), who express their respective frustration with the girl’s condition in vastly different ways. When the family matriarch harshly punishes Jisoo due to her inability to speak, Hyunsook decides to stand up for her daughter, subverting traditional expectations in the process.
Cocoon is one of five winners of the 2025 Student Short Film Showcase, a collaborative program from The Gotham, Focus Features and JetBlue that is available to stream via Focus Features’s YouTube channel and offered in the air as part of JetBlue’s in-flight entertainment selection.
Over an email exchange, and before the film’s Tribeca premiere, Jung elaborated on her choice to attend Loyola Marymount, the process of drawing from her own family dynamic and how she approached portraying anxiety on screen,
All interviews with all of the sixth annual Student Short Film Showcase winners are published here.
Filmmaker: What motivated you to pursue a filmmaking degree at Loyola Marymount University?
Jung: Growing up, I became accustomed to the quiet helplessness that poverty instills and I learned early on to suppress my own desires. So when I made the decision to pursue graduate studies in the U.S., it felt like waking up from a long sleep and finally facing the longing I had buried deep inside. Choosing Loyola Marymount University was an act of faith—not in certainty, but in a firm belief in myself, however imperfect. Thankfully, I met professors who truly supported me and helped me shape my voice as a filmmaker. For me, LMU wasn’t just a school; it was the first place where I began to take my own potential seriously.
Filmmaker: The film centers on three generations of women, who all approach tradition, discipline and self-expression very differently. Have you encountered these disparate personalities and approaches first-hand?
Jung: Yes, I’ve personally witnessed how different generations of women interpret tradition, discipline, and self-expression in very different ways. Like the character Hyunsook, my mother spent many years enduring pressure from her mother-in-law. She tried so hard to embody the image of a “traditional mother” before she even had a chance to discover her own identity. Watching that as her daughter, I felt both heartbreak and anger. But over time, my mother came to understand that her mother-in-law was also a victim of the same patriarchal system. In the end, she chose to forgive her—not out of weakness, but from a place of deep empathy. I was profoundly moved by that. My mother chose to care for someone else’s wounds before tending to her own. That, to me, was an act of quiet strength and grace. This experience deeply shaped the core of my film—the belief that while patriarchy continues to harm women across generations, it is also through women, and through their care for one another, that the cycle can be broken. The film explores how, even through conflict, women can ultimately become each other’s salvation.
Filmmaker: Speaking of these central characters, how did you find your cast?
Jung: Taehee Kim, who plays the mother, was actually the only actor I cast directly after seeing her audition. She immediately captured the emotional complexity of the character, and I knew she was the one.
For the daughter’s role, we held additional auditions with chemistry readings, and Alexis stood out right away for the natural connection she shared with Taehee. Their dynamic felt honest and intimate—exactly what the story needed.
Filmmaker: What felt most vital to portray regarding your young protagonist’s anxiety?
Jung: When depicting the daughter’s anxiety, what mattered most to me was ensuring it never appeared as resignation or defeat. Jisoo may live under layers of oppression, but she holds within her a quiet yet powerful force—one of energy and resistance. Even in fear, she reaches for what she wants and doesn’t hesitate to express her dissatisfaction.
I wanted the audience to see that she is not simply crushed by her anxiety, but perhaps someone on the verge of screaming back at the world. Through her relationship with her mother, Hyunsook, I sought to show how oppression is often passed down across generations—but also how Jisoo might be the one to break that cycle.
That’s why the film ends with her smile. It’s a small but potent signal of hope—a suggestion that even within patriarchy, resistance and renewal are possible.
Filmmaker: Your short has its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival in June. What are your hopes for the film’s first theatrical screening?
Jung: Cocoon is deeply rooted in Korean culture—set during the country’s biggest holiday—but at its core, it tells a universal story. Although the film started from a very personal place, its themes of pain and growth are ones I believe will resonate with many, especially women. As the film has its first theatrical screening at Tribeca, I hope it creates a genuine emotional connection with audiences and offers a space for reflection and empathy.
