Photo by Richie Trimble
Na Forest Lim (they/he) is an Autistic trans person of color, film director/photojournalist living in Detroit/Waawiyaatanong, Anishinaabe land. They were born and raised in Seoul, South Korea. Growing up, visual storytelling called to them, first through the love of immersing themselves in graphic novels that stretched the imagination and then as a creator of manga. Equipped with a small Sony camcorder, originally purchased to document friends, Na opened a portal to examine the larger world around them and became an author through the lens of their camera. Filmmaking and photography is a labor of love and curation of intimacy for everything Na captures. It is a love letter to marginalized communities such as immigrants, neurodivergent thinkers, people of color and queer folx. Na seeks to infuse tenderness as a form of intentional care and counterstory by lifting up narratives of communities who have historically not been granted that privilege. They highlight their subject's strength, resilience and rich tapestries of varying voices as a tool for people to feel inspired to excavate their power.
