In this episode Carolyn speaks with Kayla Lewis and Luke Salin about their debut pilot Parked in America which screened at the 2021 SXSW Film Festival in the Episodic Pilot Competition. The show is a half-hour dramedy focused on Jamie Park (July Song) a young South Korean girl travels to Illinois due to a tragic situation involving her older sister. During our discussion, Kayla Lewis and Luke Salin spoke about using their experiences, and those of their friends and families to carefully craft a story that touches on many issues affecting young people today, including mental illness, sexuality and family dynamics.
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Parked in America is a half-hour YA drama following Ji Yeon Park (Judy Song), a Korean teenager, who moves in with her relatives in Illinois after a family tragedy back at home in Seoul. While it isn’t directly clear in the episode’s opening, it’s clear that what happened back home impacted Ji Yeon, but now, she’s on her own to handle it with her extended family. In just 31-minutes Parked in America is a strong and salient pilot episode. It covers issues of belonging, familial bonds, guilt, racism, and identity.
You can read a review of the pilot episode by Kate Sánchez here, and watch the interview on Carolyn’s YouTube channel here.
Follow Carolyn on Twitter and Instagram @Carriecnh12, and to access the African American Film Critics Association Virtual Roundtables mentioned, visit the YouTube Channel here, and Carolyn’s new channel here.
Visit the film’s official social media accounts for updates at Twitter: @ParkedinAmerica and @parkedinamericashow on Instagram.
