April 14th, 2021 
Jackson Murphy 
Kang Min Kim is the director of the moving animated short film KKUM. It screened virtually through this year’s Sundance Film Festival and is nominated for this Friday’s Best Animated Short Subject Annie Award. Kim is honored to receive this recognition for his personal, special film. (This was conducted as an Email Q&A and edited for clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: How did it feel having KKUM screen at this year’s virtual Sundance Film Festival?
Kang Min Kim: It is always an honor to be part of Sundance which is my favorite film festival. I usually attend festivals happening near LA. I could not travel to Europe and Asia to attend festivals but last year and this year everything changed. Many festivals were canceled because of the pandemic. But lyrically I could meet more people through Zoom. I don’t have an agency or team who can help me to promote my works. I am an independent filmmaker and I usually make short films with a micro budget in a short time. Sundance helps me a lot to promote my works to the commercial industry and other festivals.
JM: What fascinates you about dreams?
KMK: I am the only child in my family. I am living in LA and my family is in Korea. So my mother always worries too much about me. She dreams at night and almost every day sends messages. Because my mother’s dreams have always been strong premonitions for important moments in my life, I rely on her dreams more than any religion. I thought that using her dreams could be a unique idea for a short film. This is why I made KKUM.
JM: The animation – and the overall look of the short – remind me of snow. How would you describe the animation and the look?
KMK: I’d like to tell you the main materials because the materials are related to technique and visual style. I used foam, styrofoam, and foam core. KKUM is a micro budget project. I didn’t have enough time and budget for the background set. So I wanted to find materials that could create a unique, prominent character while also having a very rich texture to it. This is why I used foam.
JM: Which section of the film was the most challenging to write and animate?
KMK: Melting styrofoam is one of the main techniques I used. There is a very important sequence at the end of KKUM. My body is shattered into pieces. And my mother’s prayers and dreams create my body and soul again. From my experience, I knew that styrofoam would be the ideal material in expressing the reassembly of my body and soul. It is a very toxic and dangerous thing to do. But I had to use this technique because melting styrofoam made for beautiful animation.
JM: You’ve now directed several animated shorts. How do you feel you’ve grown as a filmmaker… and a person?
KMK: I didn’t plan to be a filmmaker. I was an international student and I had to finish my thesis film to graduate school. And the thesis film changed my life. I screened the thesis film at so many big film festivals like the Sundance Film Festival. I could communicate with many people who have different backgrounds, different languages through my film. It was an amazing experience and I thought that this is the real communication that I really wanted to have. That is why I have been making short films since I graduated school.
JM: What would winning an Annie Award mean to you?
KMK: Winning an Annie is beyond my dream because I have never dreamed about it before. I am a freelance artist and independent filmmaker who really wants to make the next film in near future with team members and with a proper budget. I believe that winning will bring me more people, love, and new opportunities for my next short film or feature film.
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