Korean-Australian Horror Story
This project is supported by the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF). RADF is a partnership between the Queensland Government and Logan City Council to support arts and culture in regional Queensland.
The Korean-Australian horror film ‘Street No. 4’ is supported by the Commonwealth through the Australia-Korea Foundation, which is part of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
‘Street No. 4’, was awarded a Regional Arts Development Fund by the Queensland Government and Logan City Council in early 2021, allowing the production of its proof-of-concept short film, development of its feature film story and its script, consulted by an Australian writer/showrunner, Stephen M. Irwin (‘Harrow’, ‘Tidelands’, ‘Australia day’). This project was also successful for the Australia-Korea Foundation Grant which will allow feature script consultation with a Korean producer Young-Hwan Jang (Oscar winning film ‘Parasite’ and ‘1987; when the day comes’) when translated into Korean.
'No. 4' in Korea
Number 4 is believed to symbolize death in Korea.
In many buildings, they replace 4 with F in the elevators, or they skip the 4th floor entirely.
Short Film (Proof-of-concept) / Paranormal Horror
Logline
Determined to prove to her partner that their new eucalypt forest house is perfect for their family, a pregnant woman discovers there's more to the house than what was advertised.
Short synopsis
A pregnant woman, Julia, who just moved into a eucalypt forest house while her partner is away for work at a mining site, visits her neighbor where she is told, "You shouldn't have moved in." Working at her computer in the middle of the night, she discovers that she is not alone in that house.
Feature Film / Paranormal Horror
Logline: A pregnant woman’s dream house in a eucalypt forest turns into a nightmare as she attempts to reconnect with her dead parents.
‘Street No. 4’ is about a pregnant woman, Julia, who moves back into her old family house 22 years after her parents’ deaths with her egocentric partner. When she calls upon her parents’ spirits, she learns that she instead summoned a Korean female ghost who could take everything from her. Julia is determined to fix this in order to save her parents’ house and her children.
This horror feature film will be unsettling and terrifying yet emotional. It will keep audiences on the edge of their seats and keep them guessing until the last minutes of the film.
Director's Note
As a creator, I had to face my own fears to bring the story that only Lark Lee can tell. I find that the scariest horror stories are ghost stories. When I was growing up in Korea, I heard so many folktales that scared me so much that I couldn't visit the bathroom at night. I wanted to bring those chills to the Australian film world which I call home now. The biggest fear in my life is if anything happens to my daughter ever since I became a mother. What if something unknown (A Korean ghost) is chasing after your baby in a place where you feel alone?
A lot of the sound effects that you hear in the short film were created using a traditional Korean string instrument called a haegeum. It still gives me goosebumps when I hear it!
In the feature length story, we introduce the Korean shaman (a moo-dang) and explore a mother's love for her children, a woman's (a chonyoguishin) jealousy who couldn't get married, and a toxic relationship wherein you have to prove your own worth to your partner based on my own experience.
Lark Lee
Creator, Writer, Director, Producer
Lark Lee is a Korean-Australian migrant mum, writer, director, producer and actress who also loves telling stories about other migrants and mothers.
Her drama and documentary projects were screened at multiple Academy Award-qualifying festivals and SBS on Demand. She is currently working on the development of a Korean-Australian feature film, ‘Street No. 4’, and her new drama series, ‘Little Korea’, which is in development and was a recipient of a development fund through Digital Original Initiative 2023 by SBS, NITV, and Screen Australia.
Koji Steven Sakai
Co-writer
Writer/Producer Koji Steven Sakai’s film and television projects have played on Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Paramount+, Roku, Shudder, and Tubi. He has worked with a variety of talented and award-winning actors and filmmakers, including Cuba Gooding Jr., Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Dermot Mulroney, James Shigeta, Mackenyu, Michael Jai White, Mel Gibson, Mickey Rourke, Randall Park, RZA, Samuel L. Jackson, Terrence Howard, Vincent Cassel, and Wilson Cruz.
He has written 12 feature films that have been produced and served as a producer on nine features. He has also produced a one-hour comedy special that premiered on Netflix and a comedy television series that premiered on Hulu (Season 1) and Peacock (Season 2). Finally, Koji was on the writing team for the television series, House of the Owl, currently on Disney+/Hulu.
Shing Fung Cheung
Cinematographer
Fung moved from Hong Kong to Australia in 1986. He completed Bachelor of the Arts in Film and Television at Griffith Film School, and also completed Master of Arts in Cinematography at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School (AFTRS). He has worked extensively in Brisbane and Sydney and received various Gold and Silver Awards at the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS) Awards. In 2013, he relocated himself to Manila in The Philippines to work on Television Commercials and Feature Films. In 2015, the feature film Kubot : The Aswang Chronicles 2 directed by Erik Matti (one of Philippines leading director) earn him an nominee for the 31st PMPC (The Philippines Movie Press Club) Best Cinematographer of the Year and The 40th MMFF Award for The Best Cinematography. Since returning to Australia, he has continued working as a freelance cinematographer in Features Films, TV Dramas and Television Commercials. He has worked on multiple films with Steve Jaggi Company such as ‘The Curious Case of Delphine Bay’ and ‘Swimming for Gold’. He also worked with Hoodlum on ‘All My Friends are Racist’. In 2022 , he completed feature films such as, "Prince in Paradise", "Love by the Vines", "When Love Springs" & "A Savage Christmas", which are all in post-production.