Kimchi Uttapam

As one of the few female engineers at UC Berkeley, Pixar, and NASA, and as a first-generation immigrant, I’ve often been the "only one in the room." These experiences have sharpened my focus on telling stories that spotlight women in STEM and underrepresented communities whose experiences I share.

I earned a B.S. in EECS from UC Berkeley and an M.S. in Software Engineering from Carnegie Mellon. After five years as a computer scientist at NASA, I transitioned to filmmaking to bridge the gap between technical innovation and cinematic art. I’m a graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts MFA program and an alumna of the Black List Feature Lab, Norton Island Residency, Almanack Screenwriters October Colony, WGA Writers Access Support Staff Training Program, and Gold House Producers Accelerator.

My work reflects this fusion of traditional cinema and emerging technology. I served as Associate Producer on Bedford Park (Sony Pictures Classics), which received the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. I also shadowed Nina Yang Bongiovi on the feature Lucky Lu (2026 Cannes Film Festival) and served as showrunner’s assistant on CBS’s Watson. My credits include the Lisa Kudrow-led audio drama Jack and Lou: A Gangster Love Story and the upcoming feature adaptation starring Linda Hamilton. I wrote and directed Silicon Valley Girl (2026 LA Shorts International and the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival).

Recently I’ve been working at the forefront of generative AI in filmmaking. I’ve developed end-to-end AI filmmaking pipelines and conducted AI feasibility and budget modeling to transform traditional production workflows. I gave a lecture at USC on "Possibilities and Predicaments: Asian American Filmmaking in the Age of AI," advocating for defining originality, authorship, and ownership in the age of AI. At Kimchi Uttapam, I’m passionate about pushing boundaries of visual storytelling through technology while remaining deeply committed to the ethical and creative implications of our tools.

— Yeon Jin Lee