Review in The Daily Aztec newspaper

Read full review here

San Diego Asian Film Festival

This past weekend we attended the San Diego Asian Film Festival and had an amazing time! Thank you so much to the entire SDAFF team and of course a very special thank you again to the whole ThirdCat crew who made everything possible. It was a hugely successful event and had a packed theater for our screening. We will be posting pictures on our website soon!

"10 Questions for Jason Hoffmann" Interview by Lee Ann Kim, Executive Director of SDAFF

View full article here: http://tinyurl.com/ylovemn

Excerpt:

"LA: There have been several documentaries by Korean adoptees searching for their biological parents (and even one live action film, "My Father," starring Daniel Henney). How is your film different?

JH: Making "Going Home" was incredibly challenging on many levels but as a filmmaker I knew that I wanted to create a film that would be a celebration of adoption. In addition, I wanted a wide range of people from different backgrounds to experience how I view the world and how I ultimately define what home and family is to me."

GOING HOME @ SDAFF on 10/23, 7:30PM!

The screening schedule for San Diego Asian Film Festival has been released!

GOING HOME will screen twice at SDAFF!

First screening:

Friday 10/23 @ 7:30PM, Ultrastar Theater (7510 Hazard Center Drive, located off Friars Road at 163, San Diego, CA 92108)

*Followed by Q&A Session!*

Second screening:

Tuesday 10/27 @ 5PM, Ultrastar Theater (7510 Hazard Center Drive, located off Friars Road at 163, San Diego, CA 92108)

Jason and I will both be at the screening on Friday 10/23 (it's also my birthday!) as well as a few members of the GOING HOME crew - Ross Girard (associate producer), Andrew Leven (co-editor) and Kevin Walker (co-editor). This will be the first time that we've all been to a public screening of GOING HOME together!

Ticket details will be posted momentarily!!

Catherine Heigl

More and more, pop culture and media icons are embracing adoption. Most recently, Catherine Heigl has adopted a Korean baby. It's very exciting for me to see this in the news and I think as adoption becomes more prevalent in the media, adoption will be more widely accepted. There is a great article here...

http://tinyurl.com/mexsdz

- Jason

Toronto

I recently got back from Toronto where ThirdCat was invited to have a private screening of GOING HOME.

It was a truly wonderful occasion and I thank everyone who was involved for having such a wonderful event for all of the adoptees and their families. I think it definitely makes a huge impact on everyone who attends.

I know I feel very grateful and thankful that there are organizations like the KCCA (Korean Canadian Children’s Association). I will never forget the experience and am honored to have been a part of this years camp.

Again if you would like to be part of our mailing list please e-mail info@thirdcatproductions.com and in the header write, "MAILING LIST".

Special screening at Korean Canadian Children's Association

Jason is currently en route to Toronto to attend a special screening of GOING HOME at KCCA's heritage summer camp. Thanks again to KCCA for the generous invite and fully sponsoring Jason's trip.

A bit about KCCA:

The Korean Canadian Children’s Association (KCCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to serving the needs of the Canadian adoptive families with Korean children. Currently, there are about 3000 Korean born children adopted to Canadian families. Every year, an average of 100 Korean children are adopted in Canada. Our main goal is connecting the adoptive families to other adoptive families as well as organizing various cultural events focused on embracing Korean culture.

Our most anticipated event of the year is the heritage summer camps in August. Families come together from all across the country to enjoy a weekend away with other adoptive families. Delicious Korean food is served and various Korean cultural events take place during the three day camp. Programs include family games, cooking contests, water-gun fights, dancing, movie, campfire, Q&A with youth speakers and more.

http://www.kccato.com

**We are still accepting donations towards GOING HOME via PayPal and US tax deductible donation through Film Forum. Any amount will make a difference. Even $5 - that'll buy us our DVD packaging!**

GOING HOME IN SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL

Check out us out on their official list of films!! http://tinyurl.com/nlzqto

RHODE ISLAND ADDS 'GOING HOME' TO INDIE LINE UP

Hi Everyone!

The world premiere of GOING HOME at Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival was a success!

We are very excited to announce that GOING HOME will have its North American premiere at the Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) next week!

The film has been selected to screen in the “Documentary” category of the festival. The North American premiere screening will take place on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 8:00 PM local time at Brown/RISD Hillel (89 Brown Street, Providence, RI 02906). The 2009 Rhode Island Film Festival runs August 4 - 9, 2009 in Providence, Rhode Island. Tickets can be purchased at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/76136.

GH's page on RIIFF's website: http://riff.bside.com/2009/films/goinghome_riff2009

Unfortunately due to lack of funds, we are not able to attend RIIFF. But we hope that our lack of presence will be made up by yours!

Please help GOING HOME reach the widest audience possible. We continue to accept tax deductible donations to keep this film moving forward. Please visit: www.filmforum.org/sponsorship to donate online. Even the smallest donation can make a huge impact for GOING HOME.

Thanks again for all your love & support for GH.

Jason & Mikyung

GOING HOME to premiere at the 2009 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival

SEE US ON THE WEBSITE: http://tinyurl.com/kjt3gv

Los Angeles,CA – ThirdCat Productions’ full-length feature documentary GOING HOME will have its world premiere at the 13^th Annual Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival in Korea.  GOING HOME follows Jason Hoffmann, a Jewish raised Korean adoptee living in New York City as he travels halfway around the world in an effort to find his birth family.  Filled with deeply human moments of joy and pain, GOING HOME shares Jason's intimate search and the realization of what his life could have been had he not been adopted.  In the face of adversity and complete upheaval of buried insecurities about his identity, Jason will find a profound new meaning of family.  The film has been selected to screen in the “Family Fanta” category of the festival alongside three other films in its group.  The world premiere screening will take place on Saturday, July 18, 2009 at 11:00 AM local time.  In addition, the film will screen on Monday, July 20, 2009 at 5:00 PM local time.  The 2009 Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival runs July 16 – 26, 2009 in Bucheon, Korea.  A complete list of films is available at www.pifan.com.

Updates...

There have been so many new and exciting updates about GOING HOME that we are eagerly waiting to announce. Check in daily for the latest news and updates! They will be coming very soon...

Article in KOREAN QUARTERLY!

Finally! Here's the article featured in KOREAN QUARTERLY! We're on the COVER of the Second section & 2 pages long! (click to enlarge)

Featured in KOREAN QUARTERLY magazine!

We're on the front page of their website!! Article to come soon!

Celebrities on Adoption

Adoption Phenomenon

It seems as though everywhere I look adoption is in the media. Angelina Jolie, Madonna, Meg Ryan... I haven't been following any of these celebrities that closely and don't even know all of the circumstances, so I apologize in advance if this offends anyone but I think it's wonderful that big well known and established celebrities are brave enough and have come out to support and encourage adoption. It feels good as an adoptee that everyone has began to think about adoption and has started an open conversation about it. It is so important, in my mind at least, that this topic is discussed openly as well as behind closed doors.

- Jason

Documentaries

Today I read a very interesting article on Cinematical. The whole article was essentially about whether the term documentary should be dropped because of its social stigma. When people ask me if I am a big fan of documentaries, I have to be honest, I'm not. I love all different sorts of movies but I couldn't say that documentary is my favorite genre. However, it is by far one of the most powerful genres when done correctly. In thinking about this in relation to Going Home, I feel as though I sought out to make a movie that didn't abide by so-called "conventional" standards or procedures of documentaries. I wanted to make a film that I would want to see myself. In the strictest sense, Going Home is still a documentary no question. But I think it falls into a category which hasn't been clearly defined in my mind. Going Home is a documentary with a narrative sensibility... I will leave it at that...

- Jason

Fitting In

To a certain extent, I think it's important to fit in. I don't mean this is a "conformist" way but rather it's important to find a place in which one feels comfortable. Whether it's a group of friends, a larger community, or even an area. There are so many ways that someone can identify ones' self. I think it's important to figure this out for yourself and not seek acceptance everywhere.

Growing up, I never wanted to be a part of the Korean culture and embrace my heritage but by choice I wanted to as I grew older. Obviously, this is a personal choice and is one of the many ways I am comfortable identifying myself as.

Featured in KoreAm Journal's March 2009 issue!

"A HEART-THROBBING DOCUMENTARY"

- KoreAm Journal

This is our first English press outside of Emerson College! KoreAm Journal is a popular monthly magazine for Korean Americans in the US. www.koreamjournal.com

Press and PR

It's very exciting to be getting all of our recent press. There is definitely a huge community and a much larger audience that seems to be interested in Going Home than just Korean Adoptees. Some people have started to ask me if it is weird that so much of my personal life is being published. Going into this process from the very beginning I knew that I would have to anticipate sharing intimate things about myself. I'm just glad that people have been able to identify with the themes and emotions of our film in their daily lives.

- Jason

New York

It has almost been a year since I moved to Los Angeles. I can't believe it. Time has flown by. When people ask me where I'm from, I always say New York.

I wonder at what point someone can consider a new place where they live their home.

-Jason

Featured in The Korea Times on March 2, 2009!

GOING HOME featured in The Korea Times newspaper on Monday, March 2, 2009!

Featured in The Korea Times newspaper today - March 2, 2009!

GOING HOME is featured in The Korea Times newspaper today! If you're in the Los Angeles area, pick up a copy at your local newsstand!

Featured in the Korea Daily newspaper on Feb. 21, 2009!

GOING HOME was featured in The Korea Daily newspaper on Saturday, Feb. 21st, 2009! This is our first big news piece and we're so excited that the word about the film is getting out!