Kim Seong-hun (filmmaker)
Kim Seong-hun | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 20, 1971 |
| Alma mater | Hankuk University of Foreign Studies |
| Occupation(s) | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 2003-present |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 김성훈 |
| Revised Romanization | Gim Seong-hun |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kim Sŏng-hun |
Kim Seong-hun (born February 20, 1971) is a South Korean film director. He directed How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men (2006) and A Hard Day (2014).
Career
Kim Seong-hun began his filmmaking career as an assistant director on the romantic comedies Oh! Happy Day (2003; starring Jang Na-ra and Park Jung-chul) and He Was Cool (2004; starring Jeong Da-bin and Song Seung-heon).[1]
In 2006, he directed his first feature film How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men, which follows a widower and his son who both fall for and fight over their new basement tenant (played by Baek Yoon-sik, Bong Tae-gyu and Lee Hye-young).[1] It was a critical and commercial failure, and it would take eight years before he could get his sophomore film funded. Kim said, "It was so embarrassing to realize that was all I could do. [...] I had the firm resolve to give myself one more try before I die."[2]
Inspired by Pedro Almodóvar's Volver, Kim began writing a new screenplay in 2008, finished its first draft in 2009, and continued to edit it until 2013 when filming finally went underway.[3] He cast Lee Sun-kyun as the antihero and Cho Jin-woong as his antagonist in a black comedy/thriller about a corrupt homicide detective who hides the body of a hit-and-run victim in his mother's coffin only to find himself terrorized by a mysterious yet formidable blackmailer.[4][5] A Hard Day (the Korean title translates to "Take It to the End") premiered in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival where it drew unanimously positive reviews, with Variety praising Kim for "handling a taut yet elaborately plotted narrative with poise, control and near-faultless technical execution."[6][7] Domestically, A Hard Day had a lackluster opening but strong word of mouth propelled it to becoming a box office hit, with more than 3.4 million tickets sold.[8][9] The film received numerous awards and nominations, and Kim won Best Director at the 51st Grand Bell Awards, the 1st Korean Film Producers Association Awards, the 6th KOFRA Film Awards, the 20th Chunsa Film Art Awards and 51st Baeksang Arts Awards, as well as Best Screenplay at the 15th Busan Film Critics Awards and 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards.[10][11][12][13][14]
Filmography
- Oh! Happy Day (2003) - 1st assistant director
- He Was Cool (2004) - 1st assistant director, script editor
- How the Lack of Love Affects Two Men (2006) - director, script editor
- A Hard Day (2014) - director, screenwriter
- The Tunnel (2016) - director, screenwriter
Awards
- 2014 51st Grand Bell Awards: Best Director (A Hard Day)
- 2014 15th Busan Film Critics Awards: Best Screenplay (A Hard Day)
- 2014 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards: Best Screenplay (A Hard Day)
- 2014 1st Korean Film Producers Association Awards: Best Director (A Hard Day)
- 2015 6th KOFRA Film Awards: Best Director (A Hard Day)
- 2015 20th Chunsa Film Art Awards: Best Director (Grand Prix) (A Hard Day)
- 2015 51st Baeksang Arts Awards: Best Director (A Hard Day)
References
- ^ a b "KIM Seong-hun". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ "Second Time Lucky for Obscure Korean Film Director". The Chosun Ilbo. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Im, Ju-ri (7 June 2014). "A Hard Day director's last chance for success". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Heskins, Andrew (16 October 2014). "Kim Seong-hun interview: "Maybe we should change it to Hard Days"". Eastern Kicks. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Baldock, Luke Ryan (2 November 2014). "LKFF 2014: THN Interviews Kim Seong Hun Concerning A Hard Day". The Hollywood News. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (23 April 2014). "Director's Fortnight to Have A HARD DAY". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Lee, Maggie (19 May 2014). "Cannes Film Review: A Hard Day". Variety. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Baek, Byung-yeul (22 June 2014). "A Hard Day defies predictions at the box office". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ "Hard Day Steadily Draws Viewers". The Chosun Ilbo. 4 July 2014. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Conran, Pierce (24 November 2014). "ROARING CURRENTS Tops 51st Daejong Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (18 December 2014). "Attorney wins four at Blue Dragon Awards". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ "Han Gong-ju picked as best film of 2014 by Korean film reporters". The Korea Herald. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Ma, Kevin (9 March 2015). "Hard Day leads Chunsa Film Art nominations". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Lee, Hoo-nam; Kim, Hyung-eun (28 May 2015). "Baeksang honors new, veteran stars". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
