For over a decade, Korean filmmaker, ALEX KO has lived in a family silenced by the devastating loss of their store during the 1992 L.A. Riots. In POK DONG, the Ko family shares their dramatic story for the first time, confronting painful memories as a means of finally moving on. Told through evocative family archives, and narrated by both Alex and his parents, we are given a glimpse into HYUNG & HYE KO's flight from the tumultuous South Korea of the late 1970s, to America, a land of opportunity. Soon after arriving, Hye began working long hours in a sweatshop, while Hyung jumped from painter to pool-man to gardener. After years of odd jobs, Hyung opened a video store on Third and Catalina Street, stocking it with his favorite American cinema and even Spanish market films. "It felt great. I came to America and I owned my own store," recounts Hyung. Intimate family videos reveal the happy years that followed as the store became a second home to the Ko family. "Our blood and sweat was in that store. It was our life," remembers Hye. Then, as abruptly as in real life, the film takes a turn, propelling the viewer into a chaotic montage of rarely seen helicopter footage of the L.A. Riots. Hyung recalls the devastation of April 29, 1992 vividly; "I closed the store and I was driving away...and I could already see a sea of fire." Within hours the Ko family store burned to the ground, thrusting the family into turmoil. Impressionistic black and white flashbacks reveal a heartfelt conversation between father and son, and the strained relationship between Alex's parents in the aftermath of the riots. In a poignant vérité sequence, the filmmaker and his family return to the site of their store that they have avoided for over a decade. Afterwards, in a tear-filled conversation between Alex and his parents, confessions are made and so are epiphanies about their emotional journey. Hyung concludes the film with, "This is my country too. Difficult things happen. If people just focus on the shadows, we'll have riots again, and again." POK DONG is Korean for "riots", and yet this film is about much more than the event itself; it is an intimate window into one immigrant family's struggle to build a dream, persevere, and make sense out of an event that continues to haunt America to this day. [ - ]

For over a decade, Korean filmmaker, ALEX KO has lived in a family silenced by the devastating... [ + ]