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Born in South Korea, director/writer "Melody" Minji Kang was educated in America from the age of fifteen. She attended Tabor Academy a college-preparatory boarding school on the coast of Massachusetts. Coming from a different culture, the change was an eye-opening refreshing shock, and she was fascinated by new ways of seeing, thinking and learning. She excelled in academics, but in her junior year, she found her life turned upside down as her health declined. Her life was a constant battle with anorexia, then bulimia and depression. Kang spent most of her senior year at The Winchendon School, near Mount Monadnock, and was honored by its Excellence in Art award upon her graduation. Those seven months at Winchendon were very influential in her decision to pursue a career in art and filmmaking. 

 

Moving on to art school, where free-thinking and unique sensibility are encouraged, was an undeniably natural choice for Kang. She 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. 

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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 her new feature film project Howl like Huskies. 

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P.S. In 2024, the script to her short film The Loyalist, along with her interview, 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. Currently, the pre-order option for this book is available on the Bloomsbury Publishing homepage.