Kevin Ung, a Cambodian-American whose family
escaped genocide during the Khmer Rouge’s reign of terror, was recently
selected from thousands of applicants to participate in the Television Academy
Foundation’s inaugural 2020 Star Trek Command Training Programme, a course
intended to give hands-on filmmaking experience to minorities.
It brings Kevin one step closer to fulfilling
his dreams of becoming a prominent filmmaker and opening a film school in
Cambodia.
The University of Southern California graduate
is one of two inaugural students for the programme, which is a joint venture
between The Television Academy Foundation and CBS Television Studios aimed at
promoting core values on inclusion and diversity.
Executive producer of two Star Trek movies and
founder of the production company Secret Hideout, Alex Kurtzman says the
programme will recognise and encourage all communities of colour.
The well-known filmmaker who also produced
Amazing Spider-Man 2 and The Mummy believes that the best films are ones made
by filmmakers who connect personally to the stories they’re telling. “I’m
thrilled to have such a stellar trainee in Kevin, Kurtzman says.
I’d love to see Kevin become the writer and
director he aspires to be, and I’d like him to tell stories that reach a global
audience that come from a personal place.”
Born in California, Kevin counts himself lucky
to be of Cambodian descent. He says the Kingdom’s beautiful and rich culture
makes him unique in the US.
His mother is from Battambang province and his father is from Kampong Cham province. After escaping genocide in Cambodia and fleeing to refugee camps around Southeast Asia, they found their way to the US and settled in the San Francisco Bay Area in California.
Kevin tells The Post: “Many Americans don’t
know about Cambodian culture or the horrific genocide that happened in
Cambodia. They don’t know the hardships and racism that Cambodian refugees and
their families still face in America.”
As they started a new chapter of their lives in
the US, Kevin’s parents spent most of their time at work, leaving him to be
raised by his grandparents. The whole family would come together at night and
on weekends and enjoy home-cooked meals.
“It wasn’t easy for them because they came here
with nothing and were unfamiliar with the language and culture. But they were
resilient and were able to build a life here,” Kevin says.
Since he was a child, Kevin has had a voracious
appetite for stories told in all forms. His passion for filmmaking really took
off after he and his brother received an unlimited Blockbuster movie pass one
summer during high school.
“We just watched everything we could get our
hands on, from arthouse films to blockbusters. That summer solidified my love
of film,” he says.
In the industry, Kevin’s biggest role model is
Taiwanese-American filmmaker Ang Lee, who pursued his dreams against his
parents’ wishes and became one of the world’s most successful directors.
Kevin says he can relate to Lee.
“I remember my father telling me that ‘people
like us can’t work in Hollywood because of the way we look’. That stuck with me
my whole life and I grew up thinking that perhaps he was right since I never
saw anyone like us on TV, Kevin said on the Television Academy’s website.
The fact that I’m now in a position that will
hopefully lead to a career in TV means that my father will be proved wrong in
the best possible way.”
Kevin was fortunate to hone his skills in Hong
Kong for several years, where he developed as an artist and made several films.
He’s currently pursuing a master’s degree in
Film and Television Production. He applied for the Star Trek Command Training
Programme while hunting for ways to get more industry experience.
The programme is advertised as a deep dive into the complete process of making a TV show.
“I feel so grateful knowing that the same
people who vote for the Emmys selected me to further develop my career in
television. When I was younger, I saw few positive portrayals of Asians on TV
and I never saw a single Cambodian.
“It’s been amazing to be part of the Star Trek
Command Training Programme and I’ve been able to learn a tremendous amount from
talented artists from all the Star Trek shows, from showrunners to directors,
sound designers, writers and editors.”
The two-month internship programme should have
taken place in-person, but Covid-19 forced it online. Productions were stalled
and meetings were held virtually with creative professionals who work on Star
Trek.
Kurtzman says: “The challenges are obvious, in
that it’s harder to ‘immerse’ our trainees in the filmmaking world without
receiving on-set experience.
“That said, because everyone’s working from
home and doing all meetings on Zoom, it provided Kevin with more one-on-one
experience with our casts and crews, and I’d even say it made more people
available to him for lengthier amounts of time.”
Kevin says he considers it a blessing in disguise
because he is able to speak directly to talented professionals in his desired
field.
“The Star Trek fellowship means that I will
finally be able to weave my unique experiences into the fabric of American
storytelling,” he says.
Kevin has already directed three short films –
Refrigerate After Opening, a Charlie Kaufman-meets-Pixar film about a man who
catches a break in life after finding a magic refrigerator; An Eye, which deals
with a man’s decision to become a terrorist after his family is killed in a
bombing and Hometown, an exploration of small-town friendship in the US, and
youthful confusion.
“I plan to put Refrigerate After Opening in
festivals, so look out for that in the coming year. I was also the director of
photography for a short film this year called 33, which was written and
directed by my friend Subhro Das, about a white supremacist who abducts an
interracial couple.
“That apart, I finished a feature script
recently, tentatively entitled Cor, which is about a man and a robot.”
While studying for his master’s programme,
Kevin plans to make more films. Afterwards, he wants to write and direct TV and
film, especially in the Kingdom.
“It would be amazing if I could be involved in
creating the Star Trek universe! I would also love the opportunity to direct in
Cambodia.
“My parents’ experiences and my Cambodian
culture has always been a part of me. My culture innately shapes how I approach
things and being Cambodian, I am aware that I have the opportunity and
privilege of featuring more Cambodians in Hollywood,” he says.
Kurtzman adds: “The rules are changing every
day, and soon they’re going to be written and rewritten by people like Kevin.
“I think the experiences of Kevin’s family have
made him uniquely thoughtful about the impact of tyranny on artists and their
right to free speech. Painful as that has been for him, it’ll make him a great
filmmaker, and an even better leader.”
For Kevin, becoming a prominent filmmaker will
be an opportunity to enable others like him to do the same.
“My dream would be to open a film school in
Cambodia to help nurture the next generation of Cambodian filmmakers.
“I believe there is still lots of room for the
industry to grow, but in order to do so, there need to be more filmmakers that
truly understand the film craft. Having a proper film school would be a great
foundation for the growth of the industry.
“My hope is that the future of film and TV will
truly be inclusive, both on and off-screen. I also hope there will be more
Cambodians on the world stage for TV and film,” he says.