Umma 3 final

JoySauce hits the red carpet for ‘Umma’ premiere

Oh, the horror! Sandra Oh's new flick will scare the sh*t out of you, and we're here for it

Words by Howin Wong

This week, writer and director Iris K. Shim brought her new film, Umma, starring Sandra Oh, to LA’s Koreatown for a star-studded premiere at CGV Cinemas. The film deftly blends horror and coming-of-age genres, dissecting intergenerational traumas around motherhood and immigration–while simultaneously scaring the living sh*t out of you. 

Umma follows Amanda (Sandra Oh) and her daughter (Fivel Stewart) trying to live a quiet life on a rural American farm, when the ashes of her estranged mother arrive from Korea. Her world is then overturned by the haunting fear that she’ll turn into her own mother and damage the relationship with her own daughter. 

As an actress Oh’s known mainly for her drama and comedy skills thanks to iconic roles on Grey’s Anatomy and Killing Eve. For Umma, she worked closely with Shim to develop Amanda’s character based on their experiences, according to NBC News. Through the lense of horror, Oh and Shim were able to portray generational trauma within Asian women, acknowledging their own mother’s shortcomings while still recognizing their humanity with amazing depth. 

We joined JoySauce publicist Nancy Yoon and her group Asians in LA, a social network of Asian American influencers and leaders, on the red carpet, and were wowed by the hype and support from the audience and community. Can we see more films like this that approach Asian American culture from all kinds of angles, please?

Published on March 18, 2022

Words by Howin Wong

Howin Wong is a LA-based brand strategist, DJ, and JoySauce's LA-based wearer of many hats. In addition to being JoySauce’s brand director, his new show 'RuleBreakers' will be debuting later this spring.