If you're a reader of AsianAmericanFilm.com, you already know Korean American filmmaker NaRhee Ahn's face -- that's her with the viewfinder in the upper left hand corner of every page on the site! And now she's a feature filmmaker. Ahn's new film, "Purity," screens today at the AAIFF screenings at Stony Brook University. Read on to read Greg Pak's interview with Ahn and learn more about the film, its award winning score, and Ahn's latest undertakings.

Asian American Film: Tell us about "Purity" and who should come see it.

NaRhee Ahn: PURITY is about nineteen year old Grace Kim (Susane E. Lee) who is the gold standard in her small town Korean church, the pride of her Reverend father, and hasn't left the house in months. Grace is mourning the death of her mother and is paralyzed by depression, nightmares and an obsessive need for distraction. Her father, her best friend and her youth minister counselor have been unable to pull her out of the hole she has fallen into and the only one who may be able to help her is the only one no one wants near her: her ex-boyfriend. Matt Kim (Derek Mio) is a survivor of an abusive father, but his decisions and mistakes have not lent themselves to a bright future. Grace and Matt are going through a lot of what life can throw at you. Learning to trust each other again may be the hardest thing either of them will ever have to do.

When I was interviewed for MTV K, I talked about how first generation immigrant parents have a hard time understanding their children, primarily because their own work ethic had been based on survival and security for their family and their children's on self-awareness and personal fulfillment. That generation gap is exacerbated by racial and national identity issues, the dogma of conservative religion juxtaposed with spiritual freedom and the simple but difficult lessons of learning to accept and forgive.

The most interesting reaction from the Korean American community was during our Chicago screening. We had a lot of first generation Koreans in the audience who were friends of my aunts and uncles. Although I was nervous about their reaction to the content of the film, that actually wasn't a problem at all. They understood the need to see both the positive and negative sides of Korean American Christians and why I took the "dirty laundry" out to dry. In fact, I was asked by one mother how to talk to her daughter about interracial dating! (and it's not even covered in the story) So I think PURITY is one of those rare movies that first and second generation families can go see together and use as a springboard to discuss issues in their own relationships. It's why I made the film and I hope it's given the opportunity for a wider access to audiences.

AAF: You shot "Purity" on a nickel and a prayer in your home town -- tell us a bit about that experience?

NA: PURITY was shot on location in Newark, Delaware. I was given a lot of support by the Korean American community in Delaware, who are all friends of my parents. The house is the house I grew up in, the church is my parent's church and the Korean grocery store is the actual community grocery store! The beautiful outdoor scenery is Ashland Nature Conservatory, a protected sanctuary that I was the first filmmaker ever to be allowed to shoot in. Needless to say, without the locations and the wonderful people of Delaware the film wouldn't have been nearly as authentic and rich as it was.

Just believing in myself enough that I could make a feature film was actually the biggest challenge. I suppose that I was my own worst critic and I never thought I was good enough to put myself and my work out there. But after 9/11, something changed. I realized that life is short and if I don't do what I've been dreaming of doing, I may not be given the chance to do it at all. So I took the leap and quit my job and risked everything I had to make PURITY a reality.

AAF: The film has won an award for its score. Can you tell us about the music in the film and what makes it special?

NA:We were very grateful to win The Gold Medal for Excellence at The Park City Film Music Festival especially since PURITY features an all Asian American soundtrack featuring Kevin So, Alfa, Big Phony, Deborah S. Craig, Florence Yoo, The Ides, Ken Oak, Shaheen, Taiyo, Vudoo Soul and composer George Shaw. This is unfortunately very rare - to have everyone from the composer to needle drop be music from Asian Americans. I've been told from several non-Asians that they couldn't believe the soundtrack was all Asian American because "it was too good!" Which was meant to be well meaning…but ouch! What does that say about the perceptions of APAs in music? It's just as hard to get a song on national radio as it is to get a film in the Cineplex. This is a struggle that I felt a responsibility to highlight and I'm glad that finally things are moving in the right direction.

AAF: On your website, you mention that the film is part of a planned trilogy. Can you give us any hint of where the story goes next?

NA: Since so many Koreans are named Kim, Lee or Park I thought that would be an ideal iconic title for my stories about three different Korean American families that are somehow linked by the themes of PURITY, LIBERTY and UNITY. I've shuffled around the stories and now LIBERTY is the second installment. It's about a seemingly normal KA family in Los Angeles' Koreatown who discover they have a bastard daughter when she shows up to live with them. It's an investigation into how buried secrets breed hatred and the desire for revenge and what it takes to be liberated from a life where you've never had love. UNITY takes place in New York City and Seoul and is about a whitewashed KA reporter who goes to cover reunification and finds herself irresistibly drawn to a militant Korean filmmaker.

AAF: Where does the "Purity" screen next? And what are your plans/hopes for distribution?

NA: Tomorrow night! Friday, August 4, 7:00 pm at The Wang Theater at SUNY Stonybrook, Long Island NY. http://www.stonybrook.edu/sb/wang/aaiffschedule.shtml

Ahh, distribution. Well it's been difficult to say the least. The movie is still on some distributor's desks, but seeing that it's a soft drama, got no movie stars or sensational marketing hooks I've been told to look at alternate ways of getting the story to audiences. If you want to find out what's next, please sign up to be our friend on www.myspace.com/puritymovie

The problem is that the majority of APAs don't go out of their way to support their own artists. I'd say half of us buy, vote and think the same as the white demographic. It's not like that in the black and Latino communities and that's where I think we stand to learn the most.

AAF: And what's next for NaRhee Ahn, the filmmaker?

NA: I'm shooting my first music video! Kiyoshi Graves, a Los Angeles based musician is releasing his first full-length album on jd8 Records and I'm telling you he is a bona fide rock star to be. The video is for CHASE, the name of the album as well as the title track. It's going to be hella fun, a mini action film with an all-Hapa cast. (Kiyoshi is half-Japanese, quarter French quarter German) Check him out at www.kiyoshigraves.com or www.jd8records.com and wish us luck!

This interview has been cross-posted at AsianAmericanFilm.com