KIM KI-DUK

After the studies of art in Paris, Kim Ki-duk comes back to Korea undertaking his career in the cinematographic field as scriptwriter and then as an author for his first long film, the low-budget Crocodile (1996). Since the start Kim attires the attention of the critics owning the appreciation always rising in every film, thanks to his very personal style. The protagonists of Kim are the marginalized, characters out of every social scheme, the most typical excluded people, painted in an unequal touching and poetic way.
His name starts to become known in the international festivals, but it's with Bad Guy that he imposes to the great public making himself very popular outside the national barriers. His success of critic and public consolidated itself with the very famous Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and again Spring, presented in competition at the International Festival of Film of Locarno in 2003. The following The Samaritan wins the Silver Bear Best Director Award, at the 54th Berlin International Film Festival. After the very appreciated Iron 3, The Bow, Time and Blow, he interrupts abruptly his production at the end of the shootings of Dream, retiring himself. Arirang is his return to direction after three years of silence and inactivity, followed by Amen , and by the winner of the Golden Lion at the Mostra del Cinema di Venezia Pietà