So Yong Kim facts for kids

Quick facts for kids So Yong Kim
So Yong Kim in 2012 at the Deauville American Film Festival.
Born	So Yong Kim 1968 (age 57–58) Busan, South Korea
Korean name
Hangul	김소영
Revised Romanization	Gim Soyeong
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Soyŏng

So Yong Kim (born in 1968) is an American filmmaker who creates independent movies. She has directed several feature films, including In Between Days, Treeless Mountain, For Ellen, and Lovesong. So Yong Kim has received many awards and grants for her work, like the New York Foundation’s Video Artist Grant. Her films and art installations have been shown in cities all over the world, from New York to Tokyo.

Early Life and Education

So Yong Kim was born in Busan, South Korea, in 1968. When she was 12 years old, she moved to Los Angeles, California, to live with her mother. She later studied painting, performance art, and video art at the Art Institute of Chicago, where she earned her master's degree in fine arts.

Filmmaking Career Highlights

In 2003, So Yong Kim helped produce an award-winning Icelandic film called Salt. This movie was directed by her husband and creative partner, Bradley Rust Gray.

In 2006, Filmmaker Magazine recognized Kim as one of the "25 Filmmakers to Watch." This showed that she was a rising star in the movie world.

Award-Winning Debut Film: In Between Days

In 2007, Kim's first feature film, In Between Days, won a special award at the Sundance Film Festival. This movie was inspired by her own teenage years. It was filmed in Toronto and mostly made up by the young actors as they went along. The film showed the sometimes awkward and lonely feelings of teenagers through close-up digital shots. Critics loved the movie, and it also won the FIPRESCI International Critics’ Prize in Berlin and other awards in Los Angeles and Buenos Aires.

Exploring Childhood in Treeless Mountain

Her next film, Treeless Mountain, came out in 2008. It told a touching story about two young girls who are left alone and how they manage to recover. Village Voice magazine even called it "one of the best films about childhood ever made." The script for this movie received support from important film programs like the Sundance Institute. Treeless Mountain won the Adelaide Film Festival's Feature Fiction Award in 2009.

Other Notable Film Projects

In 2009, So Yong Kim also worked on a collection of short films called Chinatown Film Project.

Her film For Ellen, which starred actor Paul Dano, first showed at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

In 2014, Kim released a short film called Spark and Light. This film starred Riley Keough and was made for the fashion brand Miu Miu as part of their Women's Tales series.

Directing Lovesong and Television Shows

In 2016, Kim's film Lovesong premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. This movie was about two best friends who fall in love. It brought her back together with actresses Jena Malone and Riley Keough, who had worked with her before.

Also in 2016, So Yong Kim started directing for television. She has directed episodes for many popular TV shows, including Queen Sugar, Transparent, American Crime, The Good Fight, Halt and Catch Fire, Vida, On Becoming a God in Central Florida, and Tales from the Loop. In the same year, she also directed the music video for the song "A Burning Hill" by the artist Mitski.

In 2021, she directed four episodes of the limited TV series, Dr. Death.

Personal Life

So Yong Kim has been married to fellow filmmaker Bradley Rust Gray since 1999. They have two children together.

Filmography

See also

• List of female film and television directors
• List of LGBT-related films directed by women