LOCAL HERO

This month's local hero is: Karen Lum

Unlike many students her age, Karen Lum, a senior at Skyline High School in Oakland, CA, is already realizing her potential and making her dreams come true.  Four years after making her first film, she has parlayed her talent into a career. Having won more than 10 awards, including an Emmy for Best Youth Film, her most notable accomplishment, Slip of the Tongue, is being showcased at film festivals around the country.  The film, originally written as a poem by her friend Adriel Luis, was shot and edited in the summer of 2005 in Oakland.  For Lum, film is just another way of telling a story, and sometimes a more visceral way.  She was fascinated by her friend’s poem and realized she could tell this story and it be the same thing, but told through using a different language.

Lum pitched the idea for the film Slip of the Tongue when she was asked to participate in a filmmakers conference in Connecticut in 2005. In order to go, she had to produce a one minute public service announcement that incorporated the theme of how youth are making a difference. Being a lover of spoken word, Lum wrote out a vague treatment about how many youth utilize poetry to change the world through self-expression. Her treatment was initially rejected, but it didn’t deter Lum.  She decided to take a poetry recording and apply images to it.  The poem “Slip of the Tongue” stood out because it was structured as a complete story with an introduction, conflict, climax and resolution. In the end, Lum finished the one-minute public service announcement, which eventually turned into a longer short film.

The four-minute feature, documenting a conversation between a young man and woman at a bus stop, explores Lum’s own issues with beauty and body image growing up a Chinese teenager.

Lum says that her passion for film began when she first sat in on her brother’s video production class.  It was there through this program that she was introduced to Youth Sounds Factory, an Oakland-based media and arts organization serving school-age youth.  This program exposed Lum to the digital world and has provided another outlet for her creativity as well as other countless youth aspiring to do the same. More importantly, this program allows students to use their technological skills to make a positive impact on society. Lum says, “Joining Youth Sounds has probably been one of the best decisions I've ever made.”  Lum is definitely grateful to have been able to share in this wonderful opportunity. 

Lum gives credit to an ensemble effort for her success which includes her brother, Mandel, who was in fact the one who basically inspired her to become a filmmaker; Mark Frey, the teacher who allowed her to sit in and enroll in the Video Production class; and Scott Boswell and Ken Ikeda of Youth Sounds Factory who provided professional and personal guidance.

On giving advice to other aspiring filmmakers, Lum says, “I think it's truly a good idea to join a non-profit media organization like I did.  They have provided me with all the equipment, support, and space I need in order to make a film.  They've also been the reason why my films have been circling through different film festivals.  If it were up to me, I would have been too lazy to get my films off the shelf!”

On creating films, Lum notes, “With my past (and future!) projects, the story and character development were always more important than pretty shots or thorough editing.  At the end of the day, Lum is happy to have produced a film that has a good story line, is really professional and something she can be proud of. 

For Lum, filmmaking is not just a hobby, but a life pursuit.  In her near future, she hopes to continue to work daily with other young people who also have a vision and passion to be behind the cameras.  Lum plans to study film at New York University. 

For more more on Karen, please email to following address: wiltedoldmaurice@yahoo.com