Dal wants to make a film about her grandmother. Her grandmother has other ideas

‘I am sorry I don’t understand. Can you explain?’

In anticipation of making a short film about her grandmother, the German animator Dal Park conducted extensive research before travelling to South Korea for an interview. This included reading and rereading a book that her grandmother, a retired literature professor, had written about her life. But when Park arrived, she found her grandmother intermittently confused and agitated by the project, repeatedly shifting the conversation to historical events and redirecting Park to her book when asked personal questions. Through distinctive hand-drawn animations and audio recorded during her trip, Park’s short West Question East Answer manifests the many frustrations of the visit and her attempts to connect with her grandmother. While reflecting a deeply personal experience, the short is also likely to resonate with anyone who has struggled to bridge a cultural or generational divide with a family member.