GRACE KIM (b.1995, Anyang, South Korea)
Based in Brooklyn, NY & Seoul, SK
Grace Kim is a narrative-turned-experimental filmmaker working in digital, analog, live-action, animation who incorporates found footage, poetry, drawings, and installation into her films. She takes an off-kilter lens to the mundane and minutiae, performing close examination of everyday intimacy and the liminal spaces between isolation and connection.
WORKS-IN-PROGRESS
Antiporn (Experimental short)
Director, Editor, Producer
Experimental short interweaving Super-8 film, digital pornography, and interview audio in an examination of the colonization and fetishization of POC bodies in the porn industry
COMPLETED WORKS
The Weeds in this Garden (Experimental short, 7m) 2021
Director, Editor, Producer
Experimental film that translates the eponymous poem into a visual protest against the false narratives of womanhood and femininity that inundate women throughout their lives. The project was made through participation in the Visible Poetry Project and supported by finishing funds from the NYC Women’s Fund for Media, Music, and Theatre by MOME and NYFA.
PUBLICLY PRESENTED WORK
Objects of Heartbreak (Experimental live-action/animation hybrid documentary, Installation) 2021
Director, Editor, Producer
An experimental, mixed-media that documents ‘heartbreak objects’ submitted by Brooklyn residents. Interweaving 2D animation, rotoscoping, live-action footage of the objects, and interview audio of the objects’ owners, the film is one cohesive reflection on the universal human experience of loss and heartache. The project was supported in part by the Local Arts Fund administered by the Brooklyn Arts Council (BAC) and Picture Farm. The film premiered at the Bushwick Film Festival (Brooklyn), screened at Cucalorus Film Festival (Wilmington, NC), Atlanta Film Festival (Atlanta), and Syndicated Theater (Brooklyn and was presented as an installation during Open House at the Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts.
Heart Tick Kaboom (Experimental short, 1m) 2020
Co-Director, Writer
Experimental animation short about an alien traveler’s whimsical journey through the sights and sounds of the airport to find her other half. The film is a lurid fever dream of two individuals who somehow manage to find each other in the midst of life’s commotion. Official commission by the Atlanta Film Society and Hartsfield-Jackson Airport. Screened on the official airport channel on CNN across 500 screens in Hartsfield-Jackson airport in 2021. Premiered at Atlanta Film Festival (Atlanta) and screened at Cucalorus Film Festival (Wilmington, NC).
Undoing (Narrative short, 5m) 2019
Director
Narrative black-and-white horror short about a woman’s nightmare induced by survivor’s guilt in the aftermath of a toxic and manipulative relationship. Created in one weekend through the Women’s Weekend Film Challenge. Helmed by an all-female cast and crew and screened at the Museum of Moving Image (New York).
An Interloper’s Kiss (Narrative short, 6m) 2019
Director, Writer, Producer, Editor
A voyeuristic look at a woman’s everyday routine from the perspective of an unlikely love interest. The film is a quiet reflection on the essence of intimacy, and what details we reveal about ourselves when we perceive ourselves to be alone. Premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival (Southampton), screened at Queens World Film Festival (New York), Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival (LA), Philadelphia Asian Film Festival, Silicon Valley Asian American Film Festival, Tallgrass Film Festival, and had a limited theatrical run at Syndicated Theater (Brooklyn).
Loveseat (Narrative short, 15m) 2018
Director, Writer, Producer
Absurdist, magical-realist dark comedy about a lonely man in search of his soul mate after a fateful encounter with a banana. Premiered at Sidewalk Film Festival (Birmingham) and screened at six other film festivals. Won Best Director for Short at Revolution Me Film Festival (Brooklyn), Audience Choice Award at Indieworks (New York). Finalist for the Horizon Award at Sundance Film Festival (Salt Lake City).
AWARDS
2022 ScreenCraft TV Pilot Script Competition Semifinalist (Prodigal Daughters)
2021 Sundance Episodic Lab Second Round (Prodigal Daughters)
2020 Sundance Film Festival Horizon Award Finalist (Loveseat)
2020 ScreenCraft Short Film Fund Semifinalist (Fissura)
2020 ScreenCraft Animation Short Film Semifinalist (The Grand Tammy)
2020 Sundance Episodic Lab Second Round (The Grand Tammy)
2020 Final Draft Big Break TV Half Hour Script Semifinalist (The Grand Tammy)
2019 Sundance Episodic Lab Second Round ((The Grand Tammy)
2019 Audience Choice Award - Indieworks (Loveseat)
2019 Best Director - Revolution Me Film Festival (Loveseat)
2019 Cascadia International Women’s Film Fest Script Studio Finalist (Fissura)
2018 ScreenCraft Short Film Fund Quarterfinalist (Loveseat)
FELLOWSHIPS & RESIDENCIES
2022 Commercial Directors Diversity Program Finalist
2022 Sony Emerging Directors Program Finalist
2021 Constance Saltonstall Foundation for the Arts Residency, Film/Photo
2021 Black Magic Collective Studio Feature Directing Fellowship Finalist
2020 Commercial Directors Diversity Program 50/50 Mentorship Program Mentee
2019 - 2020 ViacomCBS Viewfinder Emerging Director Fellowship
2019 - 2020 Picture Farm Commercial Directing Fellowship
2019 Ghetto Film School Emerging Director Fellowship Semi-finalist
GRANTS & FUNDING
2020 NYC Women’s Fund - New York Foundation for the Arts and Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment - (The Weeds in this Garden)
2020 Local Arts Fund - Brooklyn Arts Council - (Objects of Heartbreak)
2020 Airport Shorts - Atlanta Film Society - (Heart Tick Kaboom)
DISTRIBUTION & PUBLICATION
2022 Loveseat, Bronxnet TV - Valentine’s Day Special; Distribution terms: (1) year
2021 An Interloper’s Kiss, Bureau of Creative Works; Online release, Interview
2019 Loveseat, ShortsTV; Distribution Terms: (3) years. Pay Television Rights on the Licensed Service; VOD Rights on the
Licensed Service; Non-Theatrical Rights and Clip Rights for marketing & promotional activities relating to SIL or Licensed Service.
2019 Loveseat, NoBudge - Online release & Interview
2019 Loveseat, Booooooom - Online release & Interview
ORGS & AFFILIATIONS
2019 - Present
Ghetto Film School
2018 - Present
New York Women in Film and Television
Staff member (Membership Assistant) from 2018-2019
2017 - Present
Filmshop
2017 - Present
Brooklyn Film Collective
EDUCATION
2013-2017 University of California, Santa Barbara B.A. English with Honors, College of Letters & Sciences Honors Program, Cum Laude
OTHER PROFESSIONAL CREATIVE WORK
DIRECTOR FOR HIRE; PRODUCER
Grace is a freelance commercial and branded content director-for-hire and producer who has worked with a variety of clients such as McDonald's, Epitaph Records, Seoul Fashion Week, Netflix, Food Network, Macy's, Bustle, Estee Lauder, Twitch, Campbell's Chunky, and more. She has single-handedly managed production and campaign budgets of over $350K+, creatively produced social media campaigns in parallel with video content launches. In addition to her production experience, she also has a background as an editor, as well as having transcribed, translated, and written scripts and content from Korean to English.