Who knew that the voice of the grumpy grocer in Kim’s Convenience was based on actor Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s father? Or that Lee loved action-hero figures as a kid? Or that he gets teary-eyed even today when he thinks about his parents’ sacrifices?
Vancouver director Kathleen Jayme included these surprises and much more in her short tribute film for the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award laureate. The National Film Board produced Jayme’s mini-documentary, “The Unboxing of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee”, which was released on May 27.
Jayme (The Grizzlie Truth, I’m Just Here for the Riot) came up with the idea from Lee’s YouTube program, Funboxing Sundays. And the new film includes plenty of humour.
“My parents were hardworking, immigrant(s)—they gave up everything to give their children the best opportunities to succeed,” Lee says. “For them, I could be five things. Right? Doctor, lawyer, teacher, engineer, or a failure.”
Check it out below.
Watch the NFB-produced short film on Paul Sun-Hyung Lee.
The NFB produced six other films about Goveror General’s Performing Arts Awards winners in addition to “The Unboxing of Paul Sun-Hyung Lee”. The others featured choreographer James Kudelka, soprano Rosemarie Landry, singer-songwriter k.d. lang, Indigenous leader John Kim Bell, singer-songwriter Molly Johnson, and playwright-screenwriter-librettist Michael Marc Bouchard.
The NFB has made all of these short documentaries available on YouTube.
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