Unjoo Moon

Unjoo Moon (born 31 May 1964) is an Australian film director, best known for the 2020 biopic I Am Woman, that tells the inspiring story of international feminist icon Helen Reddy.

Unjoo Moon
Born (1964-05-31) 31 May 1964
South Korea
NationalityAustralian
EducationUniversity of NSW, Australian Film and Television School, American Film Institute
OccupationFilm director and producer
Notable work
I Am Woman, The Zen of Bennett
Spouse(s)Dion Beebe
Children1

Born in South Korea, and raised in Sydney, Moon studied Arts/Law at the University of NSW before working at Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a TV and print journalist. She left journalism to study film at the Australian Film and Television and Radio School, winning the Kenneth B. Myer award and meeting her partner, Oscar-winning cinematographer Dion Beebe.[1] Together they moved to Los Angeles where Moon attended the American Film Institute, graduating with a Master of Fine Arts and receiving the Franklin J Schaffner Directing Award.[1] After the Las Vegas shooting in 2017 she worked with spoken word artist In-Q on a public service video about gun violence.[2] She also directed The Zen of Bennett, a 2012 documentary on jazz singer Tony Bennett, produced by Bennett's son Danny and Jennifer Lebeau.[3] The New York Times described it as "a tender, touching documentary portrait”.[4]

Filmography

I Am Woman (2020 film)

I Am Woman, the film, is named after Reddy's most famous song, which became a feminist anthem during the rise of the women's movement in the 1970s. It follows Australian singer Helen Reddy from her arrival in New York in 1966, through her friendship with legendary rock writer Lillian Roxon and her troubled marriage to manager Jeff Wald. Moon met Reddy at a G'Day Australia event in Los Angeles in 2013 and was surprised to find her personal story, which was so entwined with the women's rights movement in America, had never been told.[5]

Moon told a journalist: "Growing up I remember a time when my mother and her friends – these bright, intelligent, and vibrant women – would roll down the windows of their Volvo station wagons, let down their hair, and sing really loudly when Helen Reddy’s song, I Am Woman, was on the radio. I have this very strong memory of watching how that song transformed women, and the lyrics stayed with me as they do with most people."[6]

Moon showed the finished film to Reddy before it was locked off. "We did a screening for Helen, her ex-husband Jeff Wald, and her two children. As a filmmaker, sitting in the cinema with Helen Reddy was, and it’s probably going to be, one of the hardest screenings I had to do for the film. I suddenly realised that this is her life and she was watching it through my eyes. During the screening, Helen sang along to her songs, and when she cried, it wasn’t because she was sad that we made the movie, she cried because she found the whole experience so touching, and I think really cathartic in a way."[6]

Moon said that the movie has particular relevance now, in the #metoo era as women's rights have returned to the fore.

She said "Helen’s stories were so intricately tied in with the rise and fall of the Women’s Liberation Movement in America in the 1970s, including The Equal Rights Amendment that was proposed to guarantee equal rights for all Americans regardless of sex. Unfortunately, in 1982, it didn’t pass. And that’s very much a part of the story of I Am Woman.

"And now there is a sudden resurgence to pass the Equal Rights Amendment. The end card on the film states that this amendment has never been put into The Constitution of the United States, and now there’s a big push to make it happen. Once the amendment passes, I would be proud to change that end card, and it would be worth it."[6]

Selected filmography

Awards
  • 2020 Athena Breakthrough Award[9]
  • Kenneth B. Myer award
  • 1999 Best Short Film; Shorts International Film festival[7]
gollark: It's evidence, sure, but weak.
gollark: The feeling of something is very different to a thing, though.
gollark: Did you know? An invisible swarm of bees is behind you.
gollark: Well, you could do one *over* candles, in parallel.
gollark: I still feel that opening a high-bandwidth communication link to gods rather than just flickery candles would be worthwhile.

References
  1. "Original recipients - Brilliant stories funding - Gender Matters". Screen Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. PR, Jazz, IN-Q // The Wrong Side of History || Gun Violence... It's Time to Talk About It, retrieved 11 March 2020
  3. Bennett, Lucy (22 April 2016), "Fan/Celebrity Interactions and Social Media: Connectivity and Engagement in Lady Gaga Fandom", The Ashgate Research Companion to Fan Cultures, Routledge, pp. 109–120, ISBN 978-1-315-61295-9, retrieved 11 March 2020
  4. Holden, Stephen (23 October 2012). "A Pop Culture Father Figure, as Mellow as His Tone". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  5. "TIFF 2019 Women Directors: Meet Unjoo Moon – "I Am Woman"". womenandhollywood.com. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  6. "I Am Woman director Unjoo Moon is strong, invincible, and woman". Create NSW. 5 March 2020. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  7. "Unjoo Moon". IMDb. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  8. "Unjoo Moon - The Screen Guide". Screen Australia. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  9. ""I Am Woman" kicks off Barnard's 10th annual Athena Film Festival with a celebration of feminist musician Helen Reddy". Columbia Daily Spectator. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
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