The Evergreen Review

MATERIAL WORLDS is an ongoing series at Evergreen where contemporary video artists and experimental animators discuss their relationship to tools, technology, and the history of art. Kangmin Kim is a powerful example of the modern independent filmmaker. Collaborative, decisive, and ultimately singular in his vision, he’s screened at major festivals like Sundance, Annecy, SXSW, and Glas. KKUM, his most recent project, took home the grand prize and audience prize at Ottawa, a tremendous achievement. What makes Kangmin’s short films about family and inner friction resonate with audiences is hard to pin down. Is it the tactility of his figurines, puppets, and models? Is it his off-kilter and nuanced storytelling, or perhaps his natural facility with the camera? Hard to say, but what remains after viewing his multimedia short films are lingering questions about symbolism, relationships, and of course, the nature of movement. He guides us into microscopic worlds and outward to the expanding cosmos, but in the end he always delivers us back to a very recognizable planet Earth.