This episode: Adam Charles’s conversation with Justin Ambrosino (writer/director) and Soojin Chung (producer) about their upcoming film Hungry for Love, which at the time of recording was finishing its Kickstarter campaign. The film had just been selected as IndieWire’s project of the week and was a Kickstarter staff pick. Chung also produced and edited Escape from Tomorrow, the notorious indie film shot clandestinely at Disneyland and Disney World.
Justin Ambrosino’s Journey: From Restaurant to Near-Death to Film
Restaurant Background: Ambrosino grew up in the restaurant business – his father, an Italian immigrant, opened a Brooklyn restaurant in 1977 that operated for 35 years. From ages 15-23, Justin worked there cooking, making coffee, and getting to know customers who “became my family.” They shared stories with him – “it was just like a living book, this restaurant” – stories he wanted to tell through cinema but didn’t know how to make that transition.
The Life-Changing Accident (Rome): During a study abroad program in Rome, within the first couple weeks, Ambrosino was hit by a car while crossing the street. He remembers nothing – only walking out of a cafe, then waking in the ambulance. He flatlined and was revived by defibrillator. “The only thing that I remember is waking up from the shock of the defibrillator.”
Injuries and Recovery:
- Flew 60 feet, landed on concrete
- Fractured skull and ribs but no broken bones
- His skull “luckily” cracked open, allowing blood to flow out – if closed, his bleeding brain would have been “drowned”
- Landed on the sidewalk; “just a few more feet, I would have went over the wall” into the Tiber River
- Hospitalized in the brain surgery unit where Italian hospitals don’t provide pain killers (believing they slow healing) or gowns (everything is free, so bare-bones care)
- Couldn’t make decisions for himself while in brain surgery observation
The Turning Point: “I just sat there thinking, okay, so what am I going to do with this second chance? And I don’t want to waste one day doing things that I don’t want to do.” This realization motivates him every single day: “You got to do exactly what I want to do… otherwise it’s not worth it.”
Immediate Action: Even in the hospital, Ambrosino asked for a TV and had friends bring DVDs and VHS tapes to start studying film. Upon returning to the U.S., he switched majors at St. John’s University in Queens to access the film club (which had a 16mm camera despite limited classes).
Restaurant Networking: He told everyone at his father’s restaurant about his new passion, screening short films at local festivals. A customer who was a director gave him his first film job – literally sweeping floors, then becoming second AC on that production, learning about taking marks and pulling focus. That small film’s well-known New York crew recommended him for PA work, leading to progressively bigger projects including Lord of War (for Miramax), and eventually Scorsese’s The Departed.
The PA Trap: A stunt coordinator named Doug Crosby told him the hard truth: “There is no way that you’re going to go from being a PA to getting a directing gig within this world here.” His advice: Get an MFA, make a killer thesis, return to New York with film school buddies (not PA friends), and “ask people to get you coffee” – essentially, redefine yourself.
The Escalator Metaphor: Crosby explained that when escalators stop moving, “it kind of feels weird. That’s how people see you. They see you as this PA and that’s all you’re ever going to be unless you disappear and come back.” Charles notes: “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with” – spending all time with PA peers makes it hard to rise above that level.
Film School Worth It?: For Ambrosino, “definitely yes.” Without AFI, he wouldn’t have achieved “a quarter of what I did.” The films he made before AFI versus after were “night and day” – he “completely learned and took in everything that was taught” in two years, which “would have probably taken a lot longer to learn all those details.” However, he acknowledges the “heavy price” and can see why others say to take that money and make a movie instead – “but you have to already be the filmmaker that you want to be. I was still growing and changing.”
Soojin Chung’s Journey: Korea to AFI to Escape from Tomorrow
Korean Film Industry Background (2006-): Chung started as a “location editor” – a position unique to Korea that doesn’t exist in America.
What is a Location Editor?: In Korea’s system, even major films ($3-5 million budgets) have “really, really tight schedules” – they often have theater release dates before production starts, with post-production in just 1-2 months. The location editor:
- Works next to the director, connected to the monitor
- Captures and edits images even before rolling the camera
- Is involved from pre-production with storyboarding, making detailed plans
- Ensures everything is in the right place during production
- Edits simultaneously while shooting
Chung explains: “Korean people think everybody doing that way. But when I came to America, I realized nobody do it, but Koreans.” Charles notes this seems “a much more efficient way of filming.”
Entry into Film: Originally wanting to be a music video director (big George Michael fan), Chung fell in love with movies because “it has more stories.” After film academy, she worked for a famous Korean director, learning editing, and became the second location editor in Korea.
Korea vs. America – Major Differences:
Work Culture:
- Korea: No unions, workers don’t get paid much but are “full of passion” – working 48+ hours straight (longest: 56 hours) with nobody complaining
- Everyone feels like family; if something happens in one department, everybody helps
- America: More disciplined and professional, but people “don’t really touch other people’s job” – can feel “a little bit cold sometimes”
Assistant Directors:
- Korea: ADs work FOR the director, are “like right arm for the director,” fight with producers over schedule
- America: ADs are between director and producer, “trying to make the day” – they push directors (“we don’t have time, you have to do that”), which “never happened in Korea”
Financing:
- Korea (pre-2006): No real independent film scene, shot only 35mm, distributor and financier were same (studio system)
- Independent films only started growing after 2006 with the digital/RED camera era
The Career-Ending Injury: While working on Lady Vengeance (directed by Park Chan-wook, who made Oldboy), Chung got injured. After shooting 24+ hours on a freezing cold day, wrapping in the morning, then having to move to a location 10 hours away, she slipped on ice while carrying luggage. Her Achilles tendon stretched. She should have had a cast and no movement for a week but “kept working on the set without anything. So it was permanently damaged.”
10 Months in Bed: Unable to walk or carry heavy equipment, Chung spent almost 10 months bedridden. She realized “I couldn’t work on the set, carrying heavy stuff anymore. So that’s when I thought I have to restart my career. Then mine as well, I will start in different places. So I decided to come to America.” (Charles notes the parallel with Ambrosino’s near-death experience.)
Coming to America/AFI: Facing visa problems and knowing nobody in the U.S., Chung came to AFI – where she met Ambrosino on their very first project. They’ve worked together for eight years since.
The Path to Escape from Tomorrow: Their AFI thesis film The Eight Samurai (directed by Ambrosino) won over 20 festival awards and qualified for Academy Awards in 2010. Director Randy Moore of Escape from Tomorrow saw it while looking for crew, loved it, and hired their DP and Chung as editor.
Post-Production in Korea: They did Escape from Tomorrow post in South Korea to avoid Disney. “We are looking for some post-production companies who can do visual effects and color, but when we contact good facilities, if they’re good, they all have a Disney project, one or two.” Chung’s director (Moore) suggested: “Can you go and hide there?” They spent two months doing VFX and color correction in Korea.
Charles confirms: “That is true. I read that. I was wondering if that is true.”
The Genesis of Hungry for Love
The Korea Connection: While doing Escape from Tomorrow post in Korea, Chung reconnected with Korean film friends and realized she’d gained 20 pounds in LA, becoming “a foodie.” In America, she’s “medium size,” but “Korean people are very, very aware of their look” – friends slowly started recommending diet methods, making her feel “miserable.”
The Conversation: When Chung returned to the U.S., she talked to Ambrosino about the difference – in America, “everybody’s very open about it and they never recommend me, you should lose your weight or something like that.” Ambrosino shared his family’s experience: “When you love food, you can tend to eat a lot of it. And when you grow up eating such delicious food, you just don’t want to stop.” His family has dealt with this “for generations” – even photos from 100 years ago show some family members were “big.”
Cultural Perspective: “I’m pretty sure that it wasn’t such a big deal back then… it was kind of just everyday life… there’s different people. But now it is such a big deal and it keeps getting more and more of a big deal. And I still see it as not a big deal… everybody’s different and that’s it. We don’t all have to look exactly the same and be the same way. And if somebody enjoys eating and they find great pleasure in it, who is to judge?”
Charles’s China Anecdote: In Guangzhou, he saw statues honoring American visitors – all noticeably overweight, clearly reflecting how Chinese people viewed Americans.
The Film: Hungry for Love
The Premise: Two down-and-out New Yorkers hit rock bottom (crumbling debt, loss of home from Hurricane Sandy, job problems) and meet for the first time in a dining hall, both eating alone. Discovering shared passion for food and no one to share it with, they ask “why not us and why not tonight?” They embark on a five-borough dining adventure through all the cultural neighborhoods of New York.
Food as Character: “Food is very much an important character in the film because food is what brings these people together and food is what tells the story of New York… the food should look beautiful. You should get very hungry when you see it.”
The Journey: As they eat through different cuisines and neighborhoods, they open up about their lives, “give and take from each other throughout the film,” and possibly find a best friend.
Tone and Style: Inspired by 1950s cinema from around the world – “human stories that have humor and drama” dealing with “universal themes… classic” films that feel relevant today. “Definitely a mixture of drama and comedy but done in a very epic and cinematic way, not in a documentary kind of feel.” Not your traditional romantic comedy leads.
Casting Challenges: Looking for actors who are “bigger size” – “it’s not for every actor. And when you start asking for those kinds of actors, there’s not a lot of people that have a bankable name per se.” Priority: “Good actors first, no matter what” – people with “the chops to pull off this character… who really loves this character and can really see the many layers we want to show.” Both leads need to be “really relatable to the audience… not like a one note character.”
The Kickstarter Campaign and Financing Strategy
The $60,000 Goal: NOT the entire budget – this covers pre-production: casting director, creating the production company, legal fees, startup costs, locations. “It would be mainly for the whole pre-production budget.”
The Financing Strategy: Selected for IFP Project Forum in 2013, they’ve been pitching to financiers who showed interest but waited for cast. “How much money they want to put in depends on the cast.” They’ve been talking to “one very, very good” casting director who needs “certain kind of money attached” plus payment before moving forward. Smart approach: seed money rather than trying to raise most of the budget through Kickstarter.
Campaign Success:
- Kickstarter staff pick
- IndieWire project of the day (and later project of the week)
- Started with grassroots personal emails to family and friends rather than pre-launch preparation
- First few days were slow (“nobody really likes to click a Kickstarter video”)
- By second week, people loved the video and wanted to share it, generating lots of shares
- Publications started writing stories, creating growing momentum
Timeline: Campaign ends December 22nd, restart after holidays January 2nd, jump into casting (casting director agreed to work immediately if they succeed), re-contact waiting financiers by January/February, aim to start shooting April or May.
New York vs. LA Film Communities
Chung’s Observations (after less than a year in New York):
- New York: Much smaller community but “much tighter in terms of relations” – meet one person, they know everybody
- Different themes: Hungry for Love got very different reactions in LA vs. NY; “realized hungry for love is more fit to the New York people”
- New York cares about “non-traditional theme… not like Hollywood movie type, like genre driven” – they “care more about what’s unique, never seen before”
- Her approach: “It depends on which film I’m working” – Hungry for Love fits New York, but their next film (The Eight Samurai expansion) is much bigger and “might fit in LA” – they’ll “move around depends on what film we are doing”
Charles’s Closing Observations
The Narrative Behind the Narrative: Like Escape from Tomorrow, there’s “a really compelling narrative behind the narrative, a story behind the story, behind the making of the film” – the personal stories of the creators that led them to make this film. Important for marketing and pitching.
About Something Bigger: “The film is about something more than themselves. And it’s about more even than the story. It’s about issues that are universal… about people’s self-image… societal concerns about weight.” This resonance attracts people who might not otherwise be interested.
Crowdfunding Advice: “If you can tie your film into a social cause of some kind, that it kind of removes you and your ego from the equation and makes the project about something bigger. And that goodwill can be instrumental… beneficial to both the people that will benefit from your project and of course to yourself and your career.”
Facebook Group Announcement: Charles created an “Anywhere But Hollywood” Facebook group for people building film careers outside LA – “taken off… getting so many people every day, shows no signs of slowing down.”
The conversation concludes with encouragement to check out the Kickstarter campaign (still with a couple weeks remaining when the episode airs) and contact the filmmakers through social media and food bloggers/restaurants for promotion opportunities.
- Season Finale: Field Guide to SPIRITED AWAY, GILLIGAN’S ISLAND Real?, BBC Spaghetti Tree Hoax, EXORCIST-CIA Connection, Hollywood Star Secrets, 13 WOMEN - October 28, 2025
- THE EXORCIST: Faith, Fear, and the True Story Behind Hollywood’s Most Haunted Film - October 21, 2025
- THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE and The REAL Possession of Anneliese Michel - October 14, 2025
