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 56–57) Busan, South Korea
Korean name
Hangul	김소영
Revised Romanization	Gim Soyeong
McCune–Reischauer	Kim Soyŏng

So Yong Kim (born in 1968) is an American independent filmmaker. This means she often makes movies outside of the big Hollywood studios. She is known for her thoughtful films that explore human feelings and relationships. Some of her most famous movies include In Between Days, Treeless Mountain, For Ellen, and Lovesong. So Yong Kim has received many awards and grants that have helped her create her unique films and art. Her work has 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 art at the Art Institute of Chicago. There, she focused on painting, performance art, and video art, earning a special degree called an MFA.

Filmmaking Career Highlights

So Yong Kim has had an exciting career in filmmaking. She often works with her husband, Bradley Rust Gray, who is also a filmmaker.

Early Film Successes

In 2003, Kim helped produce an award-winning film called Salt, which was directed by her husband. In 2006, Filmmaker Magazine named her one of the "25 Filmmakers to Watch." This was a big honor for her early career.

Her first feature film, In Between Days, came out in 2007. It won a special award at the famous Sundance Film Festival. The movie was inspired by her own teenage years and was filmed in Toronto. The young actors mostly made up their lines as they went, which made the film feel very real. Critics loved how it showed the awkward and sometimes lonely feelings of teenagers. The film also won awards in Berlin, Los Angeles, and Buenos Aires.

In 2008, Kim released Treeless Mountain. This film tells the story of two young girls who are left alone and how they cope. Village Voice magazine called it "one of the best films about childhood ever made." The movie received support from important film programs and won the Feature Fiction Award at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2009.

Later Films and TV Work

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

Her film For Ellen, which starred actor Paul Dano, was shown at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. In 2014, she directed a short film called Spark and Light. This film starred Riley Keough and was made for a fashion company as part of their Women's Tales series.

In 2016, Kim's film Lovesong also premiered at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival. This movie is about two best friends who fall in love. It brought together actors Jena Malone and Riley Keough, both of whom had worked with Kim before.

That same year, 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. She also directed a music video for the song "A Burning Hill" by the artist Mitski.

More recently, 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

So Yong Kim has directed many films and TV episodes. Here are some of her directed works:

See also

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