At the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, filmmaker Grace An's short film 'Cabbage Daddy' is captivating audiences with its colorful portrayal of the complexities of language and cultural identity. This four-minute animated film explores the often humorous and poignant misinterpretations that arise when navigating between English and Korean, particularly through the lens of homophones. 'Cabbage Daddy' is a vibrant representation of An's personal journey with language, interwoven with her experiences as a second-generation immigrant. The film opens with An's simple yet profound question: "Why am I so bad at Korean?" Growing up in Toronto, Canada, in a household that embraced both English and Korean, An's family often communicated in a blend of the two languages, affectionately referred to as 'Konglish.' Although she can hold conversations in Korean, An admits to struggling with fluency, which inspired her to delve deeper into the language as she matured. An's journey to improve her Korean led to a series of amusing miscommunications that she began documenting, particularly focusing on the homophones between the two languages. This exploration of language nuances became the foundation of her film. As An put it, "I started making a list of Korean and English homophones, and when I stopped adding to it, I realized I had the script for my next short film." The narrative of 'Cabbage Daddy' unfolds through a whimsical sequence of animated visuals that connect seemingly unrelated images, all while cleverly playing with the sounds of the Korean words for 'magpie,' 'cigarette,' and 'together.' The animation features a magpie holding a cigarette, transitioning to a couple holding hands, and then to childlike drawings of a hug and other humorous depictions. The film's playful structure, enhanced by a musical score composed by Oliver Lewis, creates an engaging rhythm that reflects the often chaotic experience of learning languages. Every frame of the film was meticulously crafted using crayon on paper, which An then animated through a combination of traditional techniques and digital manipulation. This choice of medium intentionally evokes a childlike aesthetic, aiming to capture the feeling of a confused child grappling with the fleeting nature of words. An noted that the production of 'Cabbage Daddy' took two years, with the animation phase alone spanning eight to nine months. "My fingers were quite hideous for several months," she quipped, recalling the physical toll of her creative process. During the making of the film, An humorously reflected on her relationship with cabbage—the vegetable that inspired the title of her film, derived from the Korean words 'napa' (cabbage) and 'appa' (daddy). Despite joking about being known as 'cabbage girl,' An found a newfound appreciation for the vegetable as she engaged in the culinary tradition of making kimchi during the production process. She recounted, "I realized it was gimjang season, and I thought, ‘I’m going to be a woman and start making my own kimchi to make my mother proud.’" While her parents have been her harshest critics, An values their feedback, especially when representing Korean culture in her work. In a previous film titled 'Baek-il,' she explored the myth of Ungnyeo, a bear that transformed into a woman after a hundred days in quarantine. After its release, An felt uneasy about being labeled solely as a Korean animator, prompting her to embrace her identity as a second-generation immigrant in her art. As for 'Cabbage Daddy,' An's parents have mixed reactions. While they appreciated her previous work, they find 'Cabbage Daddy' perplexing, and some fluent Korean speakers have commented that it appears to be made from an English-speaking perspective. An acknowledged this feedback, stating, "I realized that it doesn’t really matter. This is my subjective view of the two languages and my personal mistakes." The film's voice actors, Annette Ubinn Hong Kim and Daniel Heemang Cho, further embody this dual perspective—one a fluent speaker, and the other, like An, a second-generation immigrant grappling with pronunciation fears. An expressed that for viewers unfamiliar with Korean, the film may evoke a sense of confusion, which is, in part, an intentional reflection of the challenges associated with language learning. "In Quebec, where I live, there are charged language politics, and many children grow up learning multiple languages. Language can be seen as a barrier, but it can also serve as a unifier when we approach the difficulties of learning languages together," An explained. 'Cabbage Daddy' is set to premiere as part of the Animated Short Film Program at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2026, at The Yarrow Theatre. Following that, additional screenings are scheduled at various locations, including Megaplex Redstone and Broadway Centre Cinemas. For those unable to attend in person, the film will also be available for online viewing between January 29 and February 1. As 'Cabbage Daddy' invites audiences into An's world of linguistic exploration, it stands not only as a testament to her artistic vision but also as a reflection of the broader experience of navigating cultural identities and language barriers in an increasingly interconnected world.