Kim Ki-duk facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Kim Ki-duk
Kim Ki-duk at the Venice International Film Festival in 2012
Born	(1960-12-20)20 December 1960 Ponghwa, South Korea
Died	11 December 2020(2020-12-11) (aged 59) Riga, Latvia
Occupation	Film director screenwriter
Years active	1993–2020
Korean name
Hangul	김기덕
Hanja	金基德
Revised Romanization	Gim Gideok
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Kidŏk

Kim Ki-duk (Hangul: 김기덕 20 December 1960 – 11 December 2020) was a famous South Korean film director and screenwriter. He was known for making unique and artistic movies. His films won many awards at film festivals around the world. This made him one of the most important Asian film directors of his time.

His major awards include the Golden Lion at the 69th Venice International Film Festival for his movie Pietà. He also won a Silver Lion for Best Director at the 61st Venice International Film Festival for 3-Iron. At the 54th Berlin International Film Festival, he received a Silver Bear for Best Director for Samaritan Girl. He also won the Un Certain Regard prize at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival for Arirang.

One of his most well-known films is Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003). The famous film critic Roger Ebert included it in his list of "Great Movies." Two of Kim Ki-duk's films were chosen to represent South Korea at the Oscars. He also wrote scripts for other directors who used to be his assistants, like Juhn Jai-hong (for Beautiful and Poongsan) and Jang Hoon (for Rough Cut).

Early Life and Education

Kim Ki-duk was born on 20 December 1960 in Ponghwa, a place in North Kyŏngsang, South Korea. He served for five years in the South Korean Marine Corps.

In 1990, he traveled to Paris, France. He planned to study fine arts there. However, he ended up spending two years working on the streets as a portrait painter instead.

Kim Ki-duk's Film Career

After returning to South Korea, Kim Ki-duk started his career as a screenwriter. In 1995, he won first prize in a screenplay contest held by the Korean Film Council. The next year, in 1996, Kim made his first movie as a director. It was a low-budget film called Crocodile. This movie received very positive reviews from film critics in South Korea.

Kim Ki-duk said that his international success began with his film The Isle. This movie was shown at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2000, his film Real Fiction was shown at the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival.

Famous Films and Awards

In 2003, Kim Ki-duk released Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring. Many critics praised this film. Critic Peter Bradshaw called it his best work and one of the greatest modern Korean films. He described it as a "powerful and mysterious story" that was both "calm and exciting." This film is also on critic Roger Ebert's list of "Great Movies."

In 2004, Kim Ki-duk won Best Director awards at two different film festivals for two different movies. He won at the Berlin International Film Festival for Samaritan Girl (2004). He also won at the Venice Film Festival for 3-Iron (also 2004).

In 2011, his documentary film Arirang won an award for best film. It won in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival. The next year, in 2012, his film Pietà received the top Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival.

In 2015, it was announced that Kim would direct his biggest budget film yet, called Who Is God?. This movie was to be produced by Hollywood producers Stephen Castor and Jim Rygiel.

Death

Kim Ki-duk passed away on 11 December 2020. He was 59 years old, just nine days before his 60th birthday. He died in Riga, Latvia, due to problems from COVID-19.

Filmography

International Awards

Lee Jung-jin, Kim Ki-duk and Jo Min-su at the 2012 Venice Film Festival

See also

In Spanish: Kim Ki-duk para niños