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Logline

Following an unspeakable loss, Christina Rhee tries to raise her son, Aiden, with her mother-in-law as he finishes his final year of high school. But when Aiden is unjustly expelled, Christina is compelled to send him to a reputable boarding school, only to later discover its sinister agenda.

Synopsis

Christina Rhee (45) is a Korean American mother rebuilding her life after a car accident claimed her husband and daughter. Supported by her mother-in-law Pauline (70), she raises her teenage son Aiden (17) through his turbulent final year of high school. After Aiden is expelled from his parochial school for fighting, he’s reluctantly enrolled in Camford Academy, an elite boarding school, after Christina is encouraged by Harold Rand — the school’s dean and husband of the church’s visiting pastor.

Aiden warms to Camford quickly, falling for a classmate named Allison Chang. But beneath the school’s polished surface, he endures racial microaggressions, unsettling gaslighting from teachers, and mysterious headaches that leave him disoriented and distant.

Back home, Christina adjusts to life as an empty nester, helping Pauline run a small Korean restaurant while quietly carrying the weight of her grief. Their relationship is strained — Christina suspects Pauline blames her for the accident. Rumors at church swirl about a fight between Christina and her late husband Peter that may have caused the crash.

At a grief support group, Christina finally reveals the truth: Peter had been battling severe depression, and the accident was no accident. “I knew that Peter wanted to take us with him.”

Her confession draws the attention of Theresa Jung, a fellow church mother whose daughter Ginny died under suspicious circumstances at Camford the previous year. School officials ruled it a suicide, but Theresa refuses to believe it.

Alarmed, Christina investigates and uncovers a disturbing video exposing the Camford Experiments — a covert MKUltra-style program designed to indoctrinate students with racial hierarchy beliefs and advance a eugenics agenda. Racing against time, Christina and Pauline rush to Camford to save Aiden before he becomes the program’s next victim.

Meet the Filmmakers

Woo Ming Jin — Director / Co-Writer
Woo Ming Jin is one of the leading voices of the Malaysian New Wave, and his previous films have garnered critical acclaim, having screened at prominent festivals around the world. He is the first Malaysian director in history to represent the ‘Big Three’ International Film Festivals: Cannes, Berlin and Venice.

Woo’s first film, MONDAY MORNING GLORY, was selected to Berlin in 2005. His second feature, ELEPHANT AND THE SEA (2007), won awards in Torino and Spain. Ming Jin’s third film, WOMAN ON FIRE LOOKS FOR WATER, (2009) is only the second Malaysian feature film ever selected for the Venice Orrizonti section, while TIGER FACTORY (2010) was only the third Malaysian film officially selected for Cannes.

His film, STONE TURTLE, was selected for the Main Competition at the 2022 Locarno Film Festival, where it won the prestigious FIPRESCI Prize. His newest film, THE FOX KING (2025), premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in the Centerpiece section, and had its Asian premiere at the Busan International Film Festival. Locally in Malaysia, his company Greenlight Pictures produces feature films and various content for television and the internet.

Gerry Kim — Co-Writer / Producer
Gerry Kim runs PPW Films, a production company dedicated to diverse and issue-driven storytelling. As a producer, his previous films include Iris Shim’s THE HOUSE OF SUH, Jennifer Kroot’s TO BE TAKEI, and Esra Saydam and Nisan Dag’s ACROSS THE SEA.

His most recent film, Fernando Frias de la Parra’s I’M NO LONGER HERE, was released as a Netflix Original worldwide in 2020. It won 10 Ariel Awards, including Best Picture, and was shortlisted for Best International Film at the 2021 Academy Awards. Gerry was awarded the Producers Award at the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Awards and was selected as a Creative Producing Fellow at the Sundance Institute in 2014. An alum of Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program, he has also directed, written, and produced several short films, including the DGA award-winning LIVING THE DREAM. In 2024, he received the SFFILM Rainin Grant for his script MUCHO POWER, which will be directed by Fernando Frias de la Parra.

Paul Zaentz — Executive Producer
Alvaro R. Valente (Producer) is an Italian-Belgian Film Producer based in the US. His producing work has been showcased and awarded in more than 400 festivals worldwide. In addition to a dozen of critically acclaimed shorts, his feature credits include: Slamdance winner

ACROSS THE SEA (2015); Sundance winner NIGHT COMES ON (2018); Bolivian Oscar qualifying film TU ME MANQUES (2019) starring Oscar Martinez and Rossy De Palma; Tribeca selected film LOST TRANSMISSIONS (2019); Rome Film Festival selected film PROMISES (2021) starring Jean Reno and Pierfrancesco Favino; Berlinale Winner STAY AWAKE (2022); MAFIA MAMMA (2023) directed by Catherine Hardwicke and starring Toni Colette and Monica Bellucci; and ON SWIFT HORSES (2025), directed by Daniel Minahan and starring Jacob Elordi and Daisy Edgar Jones.

Alvaro earned an MFA in film from Columbia University. He was selected as a producer for the 2012 Atelier Ludwigsburg-Paris for Young European Producers, the 2013 Berlinale Talents, the 2016 Sundance Catalyst, the 2018 IFP Project Forum, the 2019 IFP representatives for Cannes Producers’ Network, the 2019 Trans-Atlantic Partners lab and the 2021 Film Independent Fast Track.

Winnie Lau — Producer
Winnie Lau (Producer) is a Dutch-Chinese Film Producer based in Hanoi, Vietnam. From 2018 to 2023, Winnie Lau was Head of International Local Productions – East and South East Asia at SK Global entertainment.

Her work there included producing the Indonesian hit series THE TALENT AGENCY (the Indonesian version of CALL MY AGENT) with Disney+ and THE THAI CAVE RESCUE with Netflix.

Before SK Global, she was Head of International Productions and Distribution at Jet Tone Films, Wong Kar Wai’s production company, and Executive Vice President at Fortissimo Films in New York and Hong Kong.

For Fortissimo Films, she brought award-winning films such as WINTER’S BONE, JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI, IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE and BORGMAN to global audiences.

Winnie is a member of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is currently finishing the feature film MOTHERNET, a co-production between Indonesia and Singapore.

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