Director+Writer, Minji Kang (aka Melody) always dreamed of studying abroad and cherished the open seas. At fifteen, she set out with courage and curiosity, stepping  into a new world at Tabor Academy, a college-preparatory boarding school on the coast of Massachusetts, U.S.A. Coming from a different culture, the transition was both a refreshing and startling and remarkable, revealing new ways of seeing, thinking, and learning. Yet within this new world, as she reached for greater heights in academics, she found herself shadowed by inner battles. Diagnosed first with anorexia, then later with bulimia and depression, she faced a relentless struggle with the darkly beasts that shadowed her mind. 

 

Leaving Tabor was a difficult decision, but when Kang felt ready to explore a different path, she spent her senior year at The Winchendon School near Mount Monadnock, where she was guided to a deeply influential art teacher. Encouraged and renewed, she began channeling her energy into painting, transforming her inner wounds and fears into creative expression. Honored with the Excellence in Art award upon graduation, those seven transformative months at Winchendon became the foundation for her decision to pursue a life in art and filmmaking.

 

Kang freely challenged her artistic voices at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), where students are vitalized to explore interdisciplinary studies and design their own individualized curricula and independent study projects (ISP) programs. She was the recipient of the SAIC Enrichment Scholarship and  acquired her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Studio, with an emphasis in Film. 

 

As a TOMS Scholar, she further nurtured her artistic growth at Columbia University in New York, ultimately achieving a Master of Fine Arts in Film Directing. Graduating with honors, Kang's thesis film The Loyalist made waves on the international film festivals garnered a multitude of commendations. Adding to her accomplishments, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation has bestowed upon her a nomination for the Best Female Director accolade. This compelling political drama short film was based on the feature screenplay Kang penned during her time at Columbia, drawing inspiration from the impassioned speech she delivered about the Berlin Wall during the all-school meeting back at Tabor Academy.

 

The script to Kang's short film The Loyalist, is included in Short Film Screenwriting: A Craft Guide and Anthology by Austin Bunn at Cornell University, alongside other award-winning film scripts from prestigious festivals such as the Oscars, Sundance, and SXSW. Released on October 31st, 2024, this book is available on Amazon and the Bloomsbury Publishing homepage. Her interview is listed HERE. 

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Since 2005, Kang have created numerous films, both narrative and experimental, of various lengths and formats: 16mm, 35mm, High-Definition (HD), Virtual Reality (VR). Kang's current feature film projects in development have been chosen and presented at the Fantastic 7 of the Marché du Film - Festival de Cannes, Berlinale Talents Tokyo, and Cine Qua Non Lab's Storylines Lab. She is an alumna of Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival's Fantastic Film School and Busan Asian Film School (AFiS).

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Cinema, as an art form, has been a delightful blank canvas that enables Kang to express her boundless imagination, sensual melodies, and candy-colored hopes and dreams, even at times when things fall in minor keys. She remain fascinated and inspired by the power of visual storytelling. She is presently focusing on a deeply personal film project, Howl like Huskies. #hapimelody