kviff.com
News
Festival Guide
  • Tickets and Festival Pass
  • Accommodations
  • Transportation
  • Festival cinemas
  • No Barriers project
  • Kids at the festival
  • Festival Shop
Program
  • Catalogue of films
  • Accompanying programme
  • Archive of films
  • Audience award
  • KVIFF Talks
  • Film Entry
Film Industry
  • Industry accreditation
  • Film Industry at KVIFF
  • Industry Days Programme
  • KVIFF Eastern Promises
  • KVIFF Talents
Press
  • Press accreditation
  • Press Service
  • For download
  • Press releases
  • Photogallery
  • Videogallery
About the festival
  • Festival description
  • Programme sections
  • Awards
  • History
  • We support non-profits
  • Photogallery
  • Partners
  • Why We Support the Festival
  • Contacts
CZ
Sign in
Film Archive

Too Pure

Another View 2002 / Too Pure / USA 2002

A drama based on real events. Nina, the daughter of Cuban immigrants, divides her time between her studies, work and a promising relationship with Brian, a young man from a good family. One day they find themselves at the mercy of a gang of criminals. Their death threats force the girl to commit the greatest of crime.

Too Pure

Synopsis

After the death of her parents, Nina, the daughter of Cuban immigrants, tries to find the “American Dream” and divides her time between her studies, work and a promising affair with Brian, a young man from a decent family. One day, the couple find themselves in the hands of a gang of brutish robbers who surprise them in Brian’s house. Capable of anything, the three drug addicts and their girl companion kidnap the couple and tie them up in a squalid building in an unknown location. Nina, in particular, is the victim of their eratic and sadistic behaviour. When the gang is unsuccessful in their improvised and amateurish attempt to get a ransom out of Brian, their death threats force the wretched girl to commit the greatest of crimes. Nina’s intelligence and will to survive, however, help her bear the humiliating repression and find a way out of a hopeless situation. This feature debut by producer, screenwriter and director Sunmin Park is based on real events in a study of the extreme limits of human nature. She asks how far we are capable of going, to what degree we are able to harm others and under what conditions we are still able to preserve our human dignity.

About the film

86 min / Black & white, 35 mm

Director Sunmin Park / Screenplay Sunmin Park / Dir. of Photography Jules Labarthe / Music Roy Hay / Editor Greg Hobson / Producer Sunmin Park, Shawn Piller, J. Ethan Park / Production Masquerade Films, LLC / Cast Mayte Vilán, Danny Masterson, Justin Pierce, Tony Lucca, Tricia Vessey, Todd Rulapaugh

About the director

Sunmin Park

Sunmin Park grew up in Korea. While still very young her song lyrics and stories won awards at prestigious national competitions. She studied at Seoul National University, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and at Columbia University. She studied film production and direction at the USC´s Film Film School. She shared in the production of the films Mr. P’s Dancing Sushi Bar (1997, dir. Hirotaka Tashiro), The Emperor and the Assassin (1999, dir. Chen Chai-ke) and The Others (2001, dir. Alejandro Amenábar). The drama Too Pure is her feature scriptwriting and directing debut.

Other partners
Newsletter

First-hand brews throughout the year.
Be among the first to learn about upcoming events and other news. We only send the newsletter when we have something to say.

Follow us on the web:

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
is part of the KVIFF Group family, which covers other projects as well:

© 2025 KVIFF GROUP

Rules for Visitors / Website visitors privacy policy / GTC / Personal Data Protection / Rules for Claim / Rules and Regulations / Contacts