Kim Ki-duk

Kim Ki-duk (Korean: 김기덕 [kim ɡidʌk̚]; 20 December 1960 – 11 December 2020) was a South Korean filmmaker, noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, rendering him one of the most important contemporary Asian film directors.

His major festival awards include the Golden Lion at 69th Venice International Film Festival for Pietà (2012), a Silver Lion for Best Director at 61st Venice International Film Festival for 3-Iron (2004), a Silver Bear for Best Director at 54th Berlin International Film Festival for Samaritan Girl (2004), and the Un Certain Regard prize at 2011 Cannes Film Festival for Arirang (2011). His most widely known feature is Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring (2003), included in film critic Roger Ebert's Great Movies. Two of his films served as official submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film as South Korean entries. He gave scripts to several of his former assistant directors including Juhn Jai-hong (Beautiful and Poongsan) and Jang Hoon (Rough Cut).

Kim was born on 20 December 1960 in Ponghwa, North Kyŏngsang. In 1990, he went to Paris to study fine arts, but instead he spent two years working there on the streets as a portrait painter. He served for five years in the South Korean marine corps, becoming a non-commissioned officer.

After returning to South Korea, Kim began his career as a screenwriter and won first prize in a screenplay contest held by the Korean Film Council in 1995. In the following year, Kim made his debut as a director with a low budget movie titled Crocodile (1996). The film received sensational reviews from movie critics in South Korea. Ki-duk said that his international breakthrough occurred with The Isle at the Toronto International Film Festival. His 2000 film Real Fiction was entered into the 23rd Moscow International Film Festival.

In 2003, Ki-duk released Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring. The film was praised by numerous critics, including critic Peter Bradshaw, who considered the film to be his masterpiece and one of the great works of modern Korean cinema. "A potent and enigmatic parable which manages to be both serene and gripping at the same time [...] It is that rarest of things - a genuinely spiritual film." The film work is included in critic Roger Ebert's Great Movies.

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). In 2011, his documentary film Arirang received an award for best film in the Un Certain Regard category from the Cannes Film Festival. In 2012, his film Pietà received the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival.

On 11 December 2020, Kim died from complications caused by COVID-19 during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latvia at the age of 59, nine days before his 60th birthday.