Short films for 70th and 80th birthdays and wedding anniversariesOraeorae FilmOraeorae (오래오래) means "for a long, long time." Korean fairy tales end with it.
A writer and her husband, who majored in film,
79 4 15make short films of parents' lives.
Not a set of photos strung together, but a screenplay that follows the emotional arc of one person's life.
You read the script and the subtitles before we animate anything.
Red shoes on the way to school, The day they met, Their wedding day, The moment the wedding photo moves, Children playing by the sewing machine, Shoes by the front door, Waving to her younger self, The closing family scene.
We keep your album photos as they are and draw the years nobody photographed, using the stories you send us. You get a file ready to play on the TV at the party.
Photo slideshows, AI animations, and Oraeorae Film
We looked at about 20 Korean services for milestone birthdays and parent videos ourselves. (October 2026; prices converted from Korean won)
| Photo slideshow | Short AI animation | Oraeorae Film | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 3 to 8 min | Mostly 30 sec to 2 min 30 sec | About 4 to 5 min |
| Time to make | 2 to 8 days | 3 to 15 days | Within 5 days |
| Years without photos | Only what the photos show | Drawn as scenes | Drawn in about 20 scenes |
| Your parents' faces | As in the photos | Redrawn as characters from the photos | Real photos stay as they are; only the missing years are drawn |
| Story | Captions added in photo order | Scenes built from the stories you send | We gather the stories through a questionnaire and write a screenplay around the emotional arc |
| Price | About US$70 to $150 | About US$100 to $1,300 (longer costs more) | US$369 |
In our two-person studio, a writer shapes the screenplay, and her husband, who majored in film, breaks it into scenes and edits them together.
The 4 min 42 sec sample, Sunhee, is edited across 55 shots, with five pieces of music carrying its emotional rises and falls.
One page of the script
S#1. Village road, morning
In red shoes, with a red school bag, her father's hand held tight on the way to school.
Excitement
S#2. Ginkgo-lined road, autumn
Then one day, she met someone.
A racing heart
S#3. A small wedding hall, spring 1979
The day I took the arm of the man I would walk beside for life.
A promise
S#4. A one-room home, by the sewing machine
With a lump of flour dough, Sujin played happily, and Minho slept soundly without a cry.
Busy, but laughing
S#5. By the front door
My own shoes wore thin, but the children's shoes were always new.
A sacrifice never mentioned
S#6. Tea-field hill, at sunset
Like the girl in the red shoes, may you always smile brightly in the days ahead.
Back to where it began
S#7. A family gathering
Happy 70th birthday, from the bottom of our hearts.
Gratitude
These are the subtitles that actually appear in the sample, Sunhee, with the feeling we noted for each scene. Everyone in it is fictional.
Sunhee: Seventy years in the life of our mom, Han Sunhee
4 min 42 sec · Made to play at a 70th birthday party
The Korean captions are part of the film. Turn on CC for English subtitles.
The people, photos and names in this sample are all fictional. We recreated them to protect our own family's privacy. Your film is made from your photos and your stories.
79 4 15
How one album photo becomes a scene
We never redraw the faces in your real photos. The original stays as it is, and only an expression or a strand of hair moves slightly.
For the years without photos, like childhood or the day your parents met, we draw scenes from the stories you tell us. The animated characters are drawn to look like your family, but not exactly like them.
Photos of album pages taken with your phone are fine. Hold the phone straight above the page and avoid glare.
We show you the script first
- 1Tell us the dateWe finish within 5 days of receiving your photos and answers. To leave time for you to check the script and scenes, starting 2 weeks before the celebration is comfortable.
- 2Pay, then send photos and answersBefore you pay, please read and agree to our refund terms: a full refund before work starts, and no refund once work begins. Then pay US$369 once, and send your album photos and your answers to the 10 questions, in writing or by voice memo, in English or Korean. Answer only what you know.
- 3We ask a little moreAfter reading your answers, we email you a few more questions about the years without photos and how your parents felt then.
- 4Read the scriptBefore any animation, we send the script and the on-screen subtitles, in English, Korean or both. This is where you correct anything that is wrong, or any wording that might upset your parents.
- 5Preview the scenesOnce the script and subtitles are set, we draw the animated scenes and show them to you first.
- 6Revise and finishYou can ask for up to three rounds of revisions.
- 7Get your filesA 1080p file for a TV or projector and a 720p file for phones, sent as a download link.
One film, one payment
It isn't a photo slideshow. It's a film that follows one person's story from beginning to end.
You get two files: one for the TV and one for phones.
Write to us
Your parents' film
About 4 to 5 minutes · Ready within 5 days
Paid once, at the start
- Your stories, gathered through 10 questions and follow-up emails
- A custom script written around the emotional arc
- The script and subtitles to check before any animation
- About 20 scenes
- Up to three rounds of revisions
- Files for TV and for phones
Just send us the date of the celebration and your parent's name to get started.
We'll reply by email. We don't take any payment at this stage.
hello@oraeoraefilm.com
What people ask before ordering
- How is this different from a photo slideshow?
- It isn't a slideshow. It's a film that follows one person's story from beginning to end. We gather the stories through a questionnaire, write a script, and turn the years without photos into animated scenes with AI animation tools.
- Can you make one for an 80th or 60th birthday?
- Yes. We make films the same way for 60th, 70th and 80th birthdays, 25th and 50th wedding anniversaries, and retirements. Korean families often call these birthdays hwangap (60th), chilsun (70th) and palsun (80th).
- What if it turns out too sentimental?
- In the questionnaire, we first ask what tone you want: simple, warm, or with a few laughs. You read the script and subtitles first, so we can take out anything that might embarrass your parents before the animation starts.
- What if some details are wrong?
- You read and approve the script and subtitles first. We only start the animation after that.
- Do you use AI? Will the faces look strange?
- We draw the animated scenes with AI animation tools, following our script and your photos. We never redraw the faces in your real photos. They stay as they are, with only a very slight movement. The characters in the drawn scenes are made to resemble your family, not to be exact copies.
- How much do I need to prepare?
- Take phone photos of your album and answer 10 questions (about 30 minutes). If we have more questions, we'll email you a few. We do the rest.
- Can we keep it a surprise?
- Yes. You answer the questionnaire, not your parents. What you already know is enough, and your siblings are welcome to answer too.
- The celebration is coming up soon. Can you still make it?
- We finish within 5 days of receiving your photos and answers. If the celebration is less than a week away, email us the date first and we'll tell you right away whether we can make it.
- Can it play on the TV at the venue?
- You get MP4 files. Play them from a USB stick, or connect a laptop to the TV with an HDMI cable.
- What about the music?
- We use music licensed for this use, so you can play the film at the party without copyright worries. We match it to the mood of each scene.
- What if we only have a few photos?
- About 10 photos is enough. We draw the years without photos from your stories.
- What happens to our photos?
- We delete them 30 days after delivery. When you send them, please tick a box confirming that, as a family member, you can share these photos for this film.
- We live outside Korea. Can we still order?
- Yes. Everything is done by email, and the film is sent as files. The subtitles can be in English and Korean together, so grandparents and grandchildren can both follow.
- How do we pay?
- Once we confirm the details by email, you pay US$369 once, through PayPal.
- What if we cancel partway through?
- If we haven't started work yet, we refund you in full. Because each film is made for one family only, we can't offer refunds once work has started. We explain this separately and ask for your agreement before you pay.