Forget me not

Director:  Sun Hee Engelstoft

What makes a mother give away her baby? This is the big question in Sun Hee Engelstoft’s poignant heartbreaker of a film about three Korean women who have become pregnant outside of marriage and are now hiding from the outside world until they give birth. They live in a shelter for unwed mothers on a South Korean island, where beautiful landscapes are in sharp contrast to the fierce dilemma that women go through: should they keep their children or give them up for adoption? Engelstoft has been given unique access to this particular shelter run by the strong-willed Mrs. Im, who fights for the girls’ independence but is up against a social structure and family tradition that leaves women in an impossible situation. Engelstoft’s sensitive portrait brings us close to a forbidden world and through her own experience as a Korean adoptee, she gives a deeply personal and extraordinary insight into a culture in which women can’t choose their own fate.

Sun Hee Engelstoft’s biography: 
Sun Hee Engelstoft is a documentary director based in Copenhagen. Born in Busan, South Korea 1982 and adopted to Denmark. Having attended several schools for photography, she was accepted at the prestigious National Film School of Denmark, from which she graduated in 2011. "Forget Me Not” is her debut feature length documentary which has already gained international interest from pitch forums at Sheffield Doc/Fest, IDFA and DMZ International Documentary Film Festival in Korea. Engelstoft has previously made several short docs, edited numerous acclaimed photo books and travelled the world with different documentary projects and widely renowned photo exhibitions.

Sun Hee Engelstoft’s filmography:
The End of All (under development, Danida Foreign Ministry of Denmark, 2016) //
Thailand: Why Has Democracy Failed (40 min, The Economist, 2014) //
Arrivals & Departure (2x7 min, Magnum Photos & Leica Camera, 2014) //
Without Words (28 min, National Film School of Denmark, 2011) // 
Badawi Boys (20 min, made in collaboration with International Media Support, 2010) // 
On the balcony (20 min, National Film School of Denmark, 2009) // 
Before i go (16 min, National Film School of Denmark, 2008) // 
Close (12 min, debut short, 2007) //

PRODUCTION FACTS

Duration: 83 min
Release: March 2019
Language: Korean, Danish and English

Director Sun Hee Engelstoft
Producer Monica Hellström
Co-producer MinChul Kim
Executive producer Signe Byrge Sørensen
Lineproducer Maya Sinji Jung
Editor Rebecca Lønqvist
Sound Designer Peter Albrechtsen
Composer Karsten Fundal  
Cinematography Sun Hee Engelstoft, Linda Wassberg, Camilla Hjelm Knudsen, Maria Von Hausswolff
Colourgrader, Anders V. Christensen   
Graphic Designer Martin Hultman  
Animation Postproduction // Ja Film
Production Manager and Postproducer Maria Kristensen 
Online and Colourgrade  Anders V. Christensen // Kong Gulerod Film
VFX Martin Schmidt // Kong Gulerod Film

The film is supported by New Danish Screen // The Danish Film Institute - DR & TV2
West Danish Film Fund
DMZ, Docs KEB Peace Fund
Danish ArtsFoundation
Danish Film Directors
Politiken-Fonden
Korean Film Council

The film is developed by Profile Pictures