Gloria Kim

Born in Seoul, Korea to a long line of media makers, Gloria Ui Young Kim emigrated to Canada when she was three years old.  After graduating from the University of Toronto with her degree in English literature, she went on to work for magazines such as National Post Business, Report on Business, Canadian Living, Chatelaine and Canadian Business and Maclean’s. 

Gloria found her true love when she started attending Ryerson for film. Her latest film is a short documentary on Shane Fistell, for the Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada for agency Saatchi & Saatchi.  She recently finished a short with the CBC, called The Auction (17 min. 2010) which went on to win the Children’s Jury Award at the Seattle Film Festival for Children, the LIFT & Fuji Best Short Film Award at the Toronto Reel Asian Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at the 2010 Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children. Her prior 35mm film, Rock Garden: A Love Story (11 min. 2007), won the CBC WIFT Canadian Reflections Award (CBC, Bravo!FACT)  and has been described by Oscar-nominated director Atom Egoyan as “absolutely beautiful” with “an amazing visual sensibility”. The film also won the 2009 ELAN Award for Best Visual Effects, the Global Audience Award for Best Anarchy Film at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, Utah and the September Slamdance Anarchy Competition. It has also won the Special Jury Award at the 41^st Annual WorldFest in Houston, was chosen for the Short Film Competition at the 23^rd Torino GLBT Film Festival and nominated by the Canadian Society of Cinematographers for Best Cinematography in 2009.

Among other honours and awards, Gloria was a guest at the 2010 Governor General’s Awards in Video and Media Arts; received a scholarship from NBC Universal and an Access and Career Development Grant from the Ontario Arts Council to complete the prestigious Canadian Film Centre’s Cineplex Entertainment Film Program: 2008 Director’s Lab started by Norman Jewison; was shortlisted for the Ontario Arts Council-administered 2009 K.M.Hunter’s Award; was chosen for the 2009 TIFF Talent Lab and was a finalist of the 2009 Telefilm Pitch This! Competition. She was invited to speak at the 2006 CFTPA PrimeTime conference and at the WIFT International Women’s Day.

Gloria is currently developing two features - one called The Banquet about a misanthropic chef who learns to embrace her culture, family and love, for which she has received a Scriptwriting Grant from the Canada Council for the Arts; and HE, a modern-day re-telling of the mythological journey of the fool.