Off Hollywood:

The Undocumented Journey of Hope

Misha Kim, a gifted musician from Kazakhstan, is struggling to find cash-paying jobs that would help him and his two-year-old daughter survive in Los Angeles as they wait for the immigration paperwork.

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Director's note

Off Hollywood: The Undocumented Journey Of Hope, is a love letter to Hollywood that has been my home for ten years - a place that may not be flashy, but is undoubtedly truthful and one-of-a-kind. With this film, I aim to share a story that is rarely told - the journey of an immigrant pursuing their dreams, the unique experiences that shape our lives, and the resilience and grit required to overcome any obstacle.

My passion for creating a portrait of a Central Asian community in the heart of Hollywood stems from a deep desire to showcase the incredible diversity that exists within our community. As I pursued my MFA in film in 2012, I quickly realized that there were no stories that truly represented individuals like me, immigrants from Central Asia, especially a Russian-speaking Koreans born in Kazakhstan. This was not due to ignorance, but rather a lack of opportunities to represent ourselves. So, I had to create my own opportunity to tell our story.

After a decade of hard work and perseverance, I stand on the other side now — representing those of us who feel like they don't belong anywhere, searching for their identity, with roots that may bend but never break, stretching in every direction across the planet.

Off Hollywood is a universal tale of strength, love, and freedom - a story that speaks to all immigrants and artists who have struggled to find their place in the world. I hope that through this film, we can shed light on the beauty and complexity of our community in Hollywood and inspire others to embrace their unique identities and pursue their dreams with passion and perseverance.

Gallery

Creative team

Tatyana Kim

Director, Writer

Tatyana Kim received her Master’s degree in filmmaking at ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California. She has embraced four cultures—born in Kazakhstan, of Korean descent, speaking Russian as her first language, and now, for the past decade, realizing her artistic goals in the US. Being born in a post-Soviet country, Tatyana's work addresses issues of the post colonial mentality, identity preservation, and what diversity will look like in the 2020s. Changing the world's perception of female directors, Tatyana works in multimedia combining her background in film, technology, theatre, music, and movement. She strives to connect the world by creating original aesthetics and a diverse, multicultural narrative. Before going to the US in 2012 she worked as a copywriter in the international advertising agency Young&Rubicam. Among numerous award-winning commercials and short films, she directed an award-winning Victorian-era short film “Tragiometry” that now can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Finalist of ABC-Disney Diversity Program, DGA student Awards, Commercial Directors Diversity Program, winner of Microsoft Hololens Hackathon. Winner of Asian Arts Awards “Best Experimental show” from Edinburgh Festival Fringe and “Best Innovative Show” from United Solo Festival, Manhattan Theatre Row, NYC.

Anatoliy O

Actor, writer

Anatoliy O (he/him) is a multi-hyphenate artist originally from Kazakhstan. His monodrama OTOSOTR was awarded with the “Best Innovative Show” at the 71st Edinburgh Festival Fringe and “Best Experimental Show” at the United Solo Festival in NYC. For the same show he received the second prize at the ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition juried by some of the top American playwrights. In 2022 Anatoliy performed an original spoken word piece for TEDx Astana where the main theme was decolonization. Anatoliy’s work dives deep into the topics of social justice, immigration and sense of belonging while examining what it means to be multiracial (he’s half Korean half Russian). Anatoliy holds an MFA degree in acting from CalArts.

Haley Saunders

cinematographer

Haley Saunders is a cinematographer who favors narratives which examine race, class and gender—especially LGBTQ+ stories. She recently finished the festival circuit with her first feature film Obscure (banned in China, beloved in Poland). She has shot many narrative shorts, campaigns, music videos, and documentaries. Her work has been featured online on HBO Max, The Atlantic, Amazon Prime, Vimeo Staff Picks, Motortrend, and No Film School, in addition to screening at Tallinn Black Nights, Taipei, Brussels Independent, and many more film festivals. She earned an MFA in Cinematography from Chapman University and BA at UNC Chapel Hill. She’s surfed the coasts of four continents, has been called an easy laugh, and is first draft pick on many a person’s ‘end of the world’ team.

Tommy Simpson

composer

Tommy Simpson is a musician/producer/composer from Los Angeles, California. From age five he was trained in various instruments including piano, violin, contra-bass, percussion, and voice. His passion for music escalated once he started writing songs on guitar at 13, and began recording and producing his tracks by 15. After playing in various bands and studying music in high school and college, he released an EP as 'Western Mystic' entitled "Opening," co-produced by Toshi Kasai [Tool, Melvins] in 2010. Since then, Simpson has been releasing electronic music as 'Macro/micro,' performed at several international music festivals, held a month-long residency DJing live electronic music, and was a co-creator of the monthly music/arts/technology event ControlFreqs. After contributing music for movie trailers and temp soundtracks to films including "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," he scored his first feature film "Run The Tide" starring Taylor Lautner, co-wrote/produced the closing credits track "Ghost In My Head" for the film "Unfriended" produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Blumhouse Films and released worldwide by Universal Pictures April 2015, and wrote/produced the song "Caustic" for the upcoming feature film "Hardcore" written and directed by Ilya Naishuller starring Sharlto Copley. Fall 2016 Simpson released as Macro/micro an EP entitled "Metempsychosis" through Aetherial Records.

Julia Kostenevich

co-Producer

Julia Kostenevich is a producer with advertising and music video background. Originally from Moscow, Russia, with a BFA degree in Theatre/Film art from M.Shepkin Higher Theatre Institute. Produced more than a dozen music videos, live performances, commercials for Fall Out Boy, Brodinski, Normani, Kylie Jenner. Also worked on a projects for Apple, Ralph Lauren, Beyonce, Rihanna, Lady Gaga and many more. Co-produced with companies such as Superprime, Caviar LA, Maavven and more. Worked on projects featured on Nowness, Dazed, received Stuff Picks from Vimeo, won MTV VMA, and ended on the best videos list of the year by Stereogum.

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We are supported by VISUAL COMMUNICATIONS - a non-profit organization that acts as fiscal sponsor for numerous independent film projects

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idea4kim@gmail.com

Off Hollywood