Kim Ki-Duk

by Kim Ki-duk (Artist)

In Korean director Kim Ki-duk's films, people don't talk; they hit. Relationships are always frontal, direct, decoded, never mediated through language which would neutralize its violence. Kim Ki-duk's heroes are presented in idyllic and luxurious landscapes, worthy of romantic postcards sent from Korea. Yet the best dramas are played between the flourishing mountain crests and the blue surfaces of the lakes and oceans. Through a filmography as injected with blood as on the edge, Kim Ki-duk shows the still-oozing wounds of a Korean society maltreated by its history with an art of precision and a staging of suffering which is all Far-Eastern refinement.

Kim Ki-duk favours independence in his way of small budget, fast shooting and strong personal implications which lead him to create his own film sets and accessories.

Kim Ki-duk (born 1960) is today counted among the most prominent directors of the new movement of contemporary cinema, while resolutely remaining outside the cinema industry. Ever since his very first films, he has been noticed at international film festivals such as Berlin (Golden Bear for best director, for Samaritan Girl ), Locarno ( Coast Guard ) or Venice (Silver Lion for 3-Iron ). He won award at 2011 Cannes Festival for Arirang and a Golden Lion in 2012 for Pietà .

128 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2005

About the author

Kim Ki-duk was born on December 20, 1960 in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. He studied fine arts in Paris from 1990 to 1993. After returning to South Korea, Kim began his career as a screenwriter and won the first prize in a scenario contest held by Korean Film Council in 1995.[1] In the following year, Kim made his debut as a director with a low budget movie titled Crocodile (1996). The film received sensational reviews from movie critics in South Korea.Kim has said that his international breakthrouh occurred with The Isle at the Toronto International Film Festival.[2] His 2000 film Real Fiction was entered into the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival.[3]

In 2004, he received Best Director awards at two different film festivals, for two different films. At the Berlin International Film Festival, he was awarded for Samaritan Girl (2004), and at the Venice Film Festival he won for 3-Iron (also 2004). In 2011, his documentary film Arirang received an award for best film in the Un Certain Regard category from the Cannes Film Festival. In 2012, his film Pieta received the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival, the first Korean film to receive a "best film" honor at one of the top three international film festivals - Venice, Berlin and Cannes.