Kim Dong-ho

Production

Kim Dong-ho

Born 1937-08-06 · Hongcheon, Gangwon, South Korea

Acting credits

An Affair poster
6.1

Seo-hyun is an ordinary housewife in her late thirties with a ten-year-old son and a successful architect husband. For her, life is a series of banal routines. Her sheltered life is suddenly threatened with the appearance of Woo-in, her much younger sister's attractive new fiancé.

An Affair

1998

Mr. Kim Goes to the Cinema poster
10.0

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Busan International Film Festival founder Kim Dong-ho, at eighty-five, picks up a camcorder for the first time and decides to make a documentary. His lens turns toward cinemas struggling through the crisis, as beloved theaters vanish amid dwindling audiences. Seeking to reconnect with old friends, "Mr. Kim" — now nearing ninety — travels the world to talk with filmmakers and cinephiles. Through these encounters, he reflects on cinema’s past and future, finding wisdom and resilience in a time of transformation. His journey becomes a meditation on change, memory, and the enduring spirit of film.

Mr. Kim Goes to the Cinema

2026

Rough Play poster
6.9

Young is a nameless actor who dreams of becoming a big movie star. Then one day, he makes his breakthrough with a film and becomes a star overnight.

Rough Play

2013

Ari Ari the Korean Cinema poster
5.5

Director Chung Ji-Young criticizes the thought that older directors have difficulties in making certain movies. Actress Yoon Jin-Seo agonizes over her identity as an actress. In 2009, before the movie "Unbowed" was made, they met and planned a documentary about Korean movies, including the processes a Korean movie goes through and difficulites. "Ari Ari the Korean Cinema" is a documentary with interviews of Korean directors, actors and actresses.

Ari Ari the Korean Cinema

2012

Ongoing Smile poster
5.3

At the age of 74, many people retire themselves or go and spend the rest of their life in elderly’s house. But Kim Dong-Ho has made the decision to live like a young and energetic man until the end of his life. He gets up early around 4 am every morning. He does his exercise for an hour. Then he checks the news and respond to his emails. After that, he takes the bus to his work. He is currently working in a university of film and media, which he has launched himself two years ago. KIM is the same man whom established the largest Asian Film Festival when he was almost 60 years old. Now that he is 74 years old, he has just decided to make his first film as a director.

Ongoing Smile

2013

Hanji poster
6.2

Low-ranking civil servant Pil Yong (Park Joong Hoon) has things hard looking after his disabled wife(Ye Ji Won). He takes charge of a hanji project in hopes it will bring him a promotion. His wife comes from a family of hanji masters. One of his tasks include working with quarrelsome filmmaker Ji Won (Kang Su Yeon), who is shooting a documentary about hanji. Though he knows little about the subject to begin with, the more he learns about hanji, the more it takes on a new significance for him and the world around him.

Hanji

2011

Walking in the Movies poster
10.0

KIM Dong-ho is the founder of the Busan International Film Festival and one of the key figures in the rise of Korean cinema. Starting his career as a civil servant, he dedicated his whole life to the sheer passion for films. With his deep commitment and instinctive creativity, he will keep “walking in the movies.”

Walking in the Movies

2024

Behind the camera

Mr. Kim Goes to the Cinema poster
10.0

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Busan International Film Festival founder Kim Dong-ho, at eighty-five, picks up a camcorder for the first time and decides to make a documentary. His lens turns toward cinemas struggling through the crisis, as beloved theaters vanish amid dwindling audiences. Seeking to reconnect with old friends, "Mr. Kim" — now nearing ninety — travels the world to talk with filmmakers and cinephiles. Through these encounters, he reflects on cinema’s past and future, finding wisdom and resilience in a time of transformation. His journey becomes a meditation on change, memory, and the enduring spirit of film.

Mr. Kim Goes to the Cinema

2026

Gangwon-do poster
NR

‘Gangwon-do’ consists of two irregularly intersecting stories happening in winter, in Gangwon province. A young man who is about to join the military travels from Cheolwon to Sokcho in search of his father. In the meantime, a woman who has escaped from her oppressive husband returns to her home village with the help of a kind stranger. Stories of these two characters, traveling in the opposite direction within the same spaces, unfold mysteriously.

Gangwon-do

2021

Jury poster
6.3

After the film screening, five people hold a meeting. Director Jeong asserts that a film should move the heart. Actress Soo-yeon emphasizes on the message of the film, Film critic Tony just discusses about the current trend of Korean cinema. Tomiyama cannot fully express her thoughts because of the language barrier. And, the head of jury, Sung-ki can’t control the situation. Will this jury reach an agreement against all odds? A satire for those who make, watch, and criticize films is about to begin.

Jury

2013