MONGRELS

In rural Canada in the 1990s, a Korean family – a widower, his teenage son, and young daughter – attempts to find their way in a new land, while navigating the darkness of their grief. Sonny (Jae-Hyun Kim), a huntsman, is enticed by an old friend to immigrate to Canada, where he is hired to eradicate the feral canines plaguing their town in exchange for shelter. Hajoon (Da-Nu Nam) navigates what it means to be a man, and young Hana (Sein Jin), missing her mother, dreams up ways to make her return.

This is Korean Canadian filmmaker Jerome Yoo’s first feature film, and the title Mongrels also represents the many complex emotional layers existing within immigrant communities.