John W. Kim

Writer and Director John W. Kim is a first generation Korean-American storyteller and filmmaker. Born in Seoul, South Korea, he grew up in Northern California and the San Francisco Bay Area, where he learned the rich culture of America through literature and the second golden era of film in the 1970's. He went on to study international literature and creative writing at the University of California at Santa Cruz, where he graduated with honors, and received his Master of Fine Arts at the University of Southern California school of Cinema-Television (Cinematic Arts). His films have screened at festivals in New York, San Francisco, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, and Hawaii. Nevertheless, his screenplay for his first feature film Blur (2011) was a semifinalist in the AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship competition, and he has also placed in the second round of the Sundance Filmmaker's Lab and the Austin Screenplay competition. The Request (2025) will be his second feature film.