![](\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260610545666\/en\/2828414\/22\/utopai_logo_high_resolution_black_bg_16k.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>![](\"https:\/\/mms.businesswire.com\/media\/20260610545666\/en\/2828414\/21\/utopai_logo_high_resolution_black_bg_16k.jpg\"){kind=logo}
<\/a>\nThe film will be co-produced by Germany\u2019s In Good Company and Korea\u2019s Paper Barn Studios, alongside Utopai Studios. Half Moon<\/i> has received support from German public funding and is scheduled to begin principal photography in Germany in August 2026.<\/p>
\nThe announcement marks another step in Utopai Studios\u2019 push to build a global, filmmaker-driven studio model focused on original films, international co-productions, and emerging creative voices.<\/p>
\nWritten and directed by Yang, Half Moon<\/i> follows Yeri and Ah-Jin, niece and aunt, but strangers to each other, as they spend a fractured summer together on a remote North Sea island. Yeri is isolated at school and emotionally neglected at home. Ah-Jin is living in self-imposed exile, working as a caregiver while carrying the physical and psychological wounds of her past. Over the course of the summer they learn to understand and respect each other, and eventually accept who they are. The film explores loneliness, family trauma, belonging, and emotional repair through the relationship between a young girl and the aunt she barely knows.<\/p>
\nThe cast includes Rina Kim, Elisa Hofmann, and Ana Kim. Rina Kim stars as Yeri, a bullied thirteen-year-old Korean-German girl whose summer on a remote North Sea island becomes a turning point in her life. Hofmann, whose credits include Blackout bei Wellmanns<\/i>, Tatort: Schattenleben,<\/i> and House of Yang,<\/i> plays Ah-Jin, Yeri\u2019s emotionally wounded aunt. Ana Kim, whose credits include Doom Doom<\/i>, Now, We Are Breaking Up, <\/i>and Nightingale Blush,<\/i> plays Su-jin, Yeri\u2019s mother.<\/p>
\nYang\u2019s acclaimed short Broken Night<\/i> won the Sonje Award at the Busan International Film Festival and the Silver Bear at the Berlinale. Half Moon<\/i> marks her feature directorial debut.<\/p>
\nCinematography is by Alexandra Medianikova, whose credits include the German Film Prize-winning R\u00e5<\/i> and the documentary Beyond the White,<\/i> for which she was nominated for the German Cinematography Award.<\/p>
\nPAI, Utopai Studios\u2019 cinematic storytelling AI system, will be used to support select visual elements in the film. Half Moon<\/i> will remain grounded in live-action performance, director-led storytelling, and traditional cinematic craft, with PAI serving as a production tool for specific visual components of Yang\u2019s creative vision.<\/p>
\n\u201cHalf Moon<\/i> is a story about the pain we carry from childhood, the people who unexpectedly teach us how to survive, and the small vows we make to keep going,\u201d said Yang. \u201cI wanted to tell a story that begins with alienation, but gradually opens toward compassion and the possibility of light, even in the darkest moments.\u201d<\/p>
\n\u201cSome of the most urgent and emotionally powerful films come from independent filmmakers, but too many passion projects struggle to reach audiences because they do not have the infrastructure, resources, or market support to move from vision to production,\u201d said Cecilia Shen, Co-Founder and CEO of Utopai Studios. \u201cUtopai Studios is building a new studio model to help change that. Half Moon<\/i> represents exactly the kind of filmmaker-driven, internationally relevant story we want to champion - deeply human, visually ambitious, and built around a singular creative voice.\u201d<\/p>
\n\u201cHyo-joo Yang is an outstanding director. Her short is a small masterpiece \u2013 meticulously structured and precisely executed. Every camera angle, every cut, every sound bit is the result of a conscious decision. But what is really striking with Yang is that she has the rare ability to put into a small sequence of images the core essence of the film. These moments transcend movies beyond borders and make cinema truly bigger than life. And that is why we want to work with her, and with Utopai. This collaboration will give us the possibility to support Hyo-joo Yang\u2019s unique visual language, maintaining her point of view,\u201d said producers Roshanak Behesht Nedjad and Younghong Chung.<\/p>
\n\u201cWith Half Moon<\/i>, we are backing Hyo-joo Yang, a talented and bold filmmaker, and the type of international co-production Utopai Studios wants to support,\u201d said Hyun Park, President of Utopai Studios East. \u201cOne of our goals is to help filmmakers realize cinematic moments that may otherwise be difficult to achieve within the constraints of independent film financing \u2013 in service of the director\u2019s vision and film\u2019s emotional core.\u201d<\/p>
\nAmong its current projects are Bedford Park<\/i>, with Hyun Park serving as executive producer. The Stephanie Ahn film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award<\/a> for Debut Feature and was acquired by Sony Pictures Classics.<\/p> \nAbout Utopai Studios<\/b><\/p> \nUtopai Studios is building the next evolution of the global studio system for the AI era. The company combines original IP development, production expertise, talent partnerships, and proprietary AI infrastructure to create and scale stories across film, television, streaming, animation, and digital platforms. At the center of its model is PAI, Utopai Studios\u2019 cinematic storytelling artificial general intelligence system, which is designed for long-form entertainment workflows. Utopai Studios is building a studio model designed to protect authorship, expand creative opportunity and bring ambitious projects to market faster and more efficiently. The company\u2019s international footprint includes Utopai Studios East, its Korean subsidiary, and Utopai GmbH in Germany, reflecting its expanding presence across key global markets. For more information, visit www.utopaistudios.com<\/a>.<\/p>