Christina Jun

Christina Jun
Christina Jun 2013
Born	전예림 Madrid, Spain
Other names	Ye Rim Jun
Occupation	Actor, writer, filmmaker
Years active	2009—present
Height	5' 7"
Website	christinajun.com

Christina Jun (Korean: 전예림) is a Korean–American theatre and film actor, writer and filmmaker based in New York City and Los Angeles. As an actress, she has worked with theatres in various cities around the country including NYC, LA, Chicago and Miami such as the Miami Theatre Center, New American Theatre and the Goodman Theatre. She has also worked on several national print and commercial campaigns including Liberty Mutual, Walmart and VH1. As a filmmaker, her films have been screened and awarded in multiple film festivals including the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival and Sacramento International Film Festival. Her latest film, "My Best Friend, Ben" premiered at ICM Partners in Los Angeles in May 2015 and has received honorable mentions for best actress and best supporting actor at the 2016 Asians on Film Festival.^[1] Christina is currently a MFA candidate in film & TV production at the USC School of Cinematic Arts

Early life

Christina was born in Madrid, Spain to Chong Ok Lim and Ki Sun Chun. Her mother, Chong Ok Lim is an acupuncturist and her father, Ki Sun Chun is the director of the Spanish Department at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. She also has a step-father, Walter K. Rothfuss who is a forensic engineer. Christina immigrated to the United States with her mother and older brother in 1992, moving to Columbia, MD. During their entry into the states, US customs misspelled their surname and it was changed from "Chun" to "Jun". As a child, Christina studied traditional Korean fan dance and drumming (Buk) performing in various community events including the annual Baltimore Korean Festival. She has also studied classical violin since the age of 5, competing and performing statewide as a soloist and with orchestras, including the Maryland All-state orchestra. Having attended Korean language school, she is also fluent in Korean.

After graduating from Centennial High School, Christina moved to Chicago to attend the University of Illinois at Chicago. While earning her B.A. in English Literature, she began her acting career by working with theatre companies throughout the city, including Chicago Dramatists and Act One Studios. She then moved to New York City to attend the 2-year conservatory at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Career

Shortly after graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, Christina was cast as Ling Shih, the lead role in the original production of The Red Thread produced by the Miami theatre Center (formerly known as The Playground Theatre).^[2] She also wrote and produced her first full-length play, Accidents directed by Scott Cooper and produced at the Manhattan Repertory Theatre in New York City.^[3] In 2011, Christina moved to Los Angeles where she worked with various theatre companies including the East West Players, The Vagrancy^[4] and the New American Theatre where she studied under Alfred Molina. She was cast in The Blank Theatre's production of Peter Pan: The Boy Who Hated Mothers. The play received 4 LA weekly nominations and won a Broadway World Award for Best Play in 2013. In 2014, she was cast in the production of The World of Extreme Happiness at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago.

In 2011, Christina co-wrote, co-directed and starred in Sawaru as a part of the Asian American Film Lab 72-hour competition. The film received a nomination for best actress, best direction and was chosen as one of the top ten finalist. She then wrote and directed In the Big City (2012), which was selected and screened at the Williamsburg Film Festival and the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival where Christina received the Emerging Actor Spotlight Award.^[5] In 2013, Christina co-wrote and starred in Wedlocked, which has been selected and screened at multiple film festivals including the Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival (2014) presented by HBO,^[6] the Hollyshorts (2015), the California Women's Film Festival (2015), Sacramento International Film Festival (2015) and Asians on Film where it received an honorable mention for best comedy.^[7] Christina's latest film, My Best Friend, Ben received its premiere at ICM Partners in Los Angeles, was a semi-finalist at the Screencraft's comedy script competition and is currently in post production.

As an actor, Christina has also worked on multiple print and commercial campaigns including Toys "R" Us, Facebook, Dolby, DTS, Walmart, Liberty Mutual, Pearson Education, EA Games, VH1 and Pepsi.

Filmography

References