Kim Ki-duk

Infobox Korean name
hangul=김기덕
hanja=金基德
rr=Gim Gi-deok
mr=Kim Ki-dŏk

Kim Ki-duk is a Korean filmmaker noted for his idiosyncratic "art-house" cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit. He is not related to the Kim Ki-duk who directed "Yonggary" in the 1960s.

Biography

Kim Ki-duk was born on December 20, 1960 in Bonghwa in Kyongsang 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.web cite| title=Profile of Kim Ki-deok | url=http://www.cine21.com/Movies/Mov_Person/person_info.php?id=532 |publisher=Cine21, The Hankyoreh|accessdate=2007-11-24|language=Korean|] In the following year, Kim made his debut as a director with a low budget movie titled "Crocodile" (1996). The movie received sensational reviews from movie critics in South Korea.

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).

Controversy

The British Board of Film Classification delayed the release of Kim Ki-duk's "The Isle" (2001) in the United Kingdom because of instances of animal cruelty in the film. Concerning scenes in which a frog is skinned alive and fish are mutilated, the director stated, "We cooked all the fish we used in the film and ate them, expressing our appreciation. I've done a lot of cruelty on animals in my films. And I will have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life." [cite web |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1274205,00.html|title='I've done a lot of cruelty to animals'|accessdate=2004-08-02|last=Rose|first=Steve|publisher=Guardian Unlimited|accessdate=2007-11-26]

To a U.S. interviewer who suggested that scenes such as these are "very disturbing and [seem] to place an obstacle to the films reception, or... distribution, to other countries," Kim said, "Yes, I did worry about that fact. But the way I see it, the food that we eat today is no different. In America you eat beef, pork, and kill all these animals. And the people who eat these animals are not concerned with their slaughter. Animals are part of this cycle of consumption. It looks more cruel onscreen, but I don't see the difference. And yes, there's a cultural difference, and maybe Americans will have a problem with it - but if they can just be more sensitive to what is acceptable in different countries I'd hope they wouldn't have too many issues with what's shown on-screen." [cite web |url=http://dvd.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_7779.php|title=An Interview with Kim Ki-Duk and Suh Jung on The Isle|date=2005-05-11|last=McKeague|first=Andy|publisher=Monsters and Critics|accessdate=2007-11-26]

Filmography

ee also

* List of Korea-related topics
* Contemporary culture of South Korea

References

*cite web|title= KIM Ki-duk ( 김기덕 / 金基悳)|url=http://www.koreanfilm.or.kr/KOFIC/Channel?task=kofic.user.eng.a_filmdb.command.FilmmakerDB1Retrieve2Cmd&MainGBN=1&MVIEPRSN_CD=20030610&pageSize=5 |publisher=Korean Film Council |accessdate=2007-11-24|

External links

*imdb name|id=1104118|name=Kim Ki-duk
* [http://www.koreasociety.org/content/view/290/86/ Kim Ki-Duk: the past, the persistent problems and the near future] About Kim Ki-Duk's 2006 controversial declarations
* [http://culturatti.com/2006/08/05/kim-ki-duks-two-trilogies/ Kim Ki-Duk's Two Trilogies]

Bibliography

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