Shelly Yo | Writer/Director

Shelly Yo | Writer/Director

(She/Her)

Born in Seoul and raised in Southern California, Shelly spent much of your youth in libraries, museums and theaters, seeking solace in worlds outside her own. During Shelly’s teen years, her teachers (all aspiring filmmakers) screened films during breaks, introducing her to the works of Spike Jonze, Jonathan Glazer, Lynne Ramsay, and Lee Chang Dong. Their varying philosophies and ways of seeing the world sparked Shelly’s lifelong journey into filmmaking.  

Shelly’s debut film Smoking Tigers, is an intimate portrait of a Korean-American teen grappling with the secrets of her tumultuous family. Smoking Tigers explores the complex emotions of youth, where desires reach fantastical heights and pains unearth the beauty of the everyday. 

Shelly’s breakthrough credit is the feature film Smoking Tigers 

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