ABOUT

A visionary storyteller with stunning visual aesthetic. A proven track record in capturing audiences and leading teams.

 
 
 

Born in Seoul, Korea, writer/director Gloria Ui Young Kim comes from a long line of media makers. She’s an alumni of the Canadian Film Centre’s Director’s Lab, TIFF Talent Lab, NSI and WIDC. She recently directed, wrote and produced her first feature, Queen of the Morning Calm, (Women in the Director’s Chair Feature Film Award, Greenberg Fund, Telefilm), which won the William F. White Reel Canadian Indie, the DGC Ontario Best Director Award, Special Jury Best Breakthrough Performance Award at the Canadian Film Festival; the Best Feature Award at Cinefam, Women’s International Film Festival and the Bronze Lens Festival; it premiered at the 2019 Whistler Film Festival and was nominated for the Borsos Award, as well as a DGC Award. The film's script placed in the 2nd round at the Sundance Screenwriting Lab and earned Gloria both the Spotlight on Screenwriters and Telefilm Canada New Voices Award. Her last short Flamenco, (CBC, 2015) won the 2017 Corus Fearless Female Filmmaker Award. Her other short films have won numerous awards and played at festivals all over the world.

She was recently nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Direction for LEFT FOR DEAD: THE ASHLEY REEVES STORY (Lifetime). Her first CSA nomination was for Best Director for It’s My Party (TVO). She has directed for Heartland (CBC, Netflix) and Coroner (CBC, CW), as well as directed multiple episodes of television for Sinking Ship, Fifth Ground, Riverbanks, and BGM, Back Alley, Muse and Cineflix.  She was chosen by Women in View as one of the 2017 Five in Focus, and was on the Board of Directors for Women in Film and Television-Toronto. She’s worked as a writer for Breakthrough Entertainment’s Blood and Water and Captain Fang for OMNI. Her shorts for CBC have won multiple awards and festivaled around the world. She has won numerous Golds for her commercial work at the Bessies, Cannes Lions, ADCC, Marketing Magazine Awards, and has had over a million views online. Her next feature, The Banquet (Hawkeye Pictures) recently received the CFC/Netflix Accelerator. She and creator Samora Smallwood have also received development funding for their thriller series, Gone from the Canada Council/CBC Creation Accelerator.  Gloria was recently part of the BIPOC Showrunner Bootcamp and is in the Netflix-Banff Diversity of Voices Initiative.

 

FILMOGRAPHY

  • QUEEN OF THE MORNING CALM * (Producer; Director; Writer) - Gloryous Prods / Hawkeye Pics

  • FLAMENCO ** (Producer; Director; Writer) - CBC / Gloryous Productions

  • THE AUCTION *** (Short) (Producer; Director; Writer) - CBC / Gloryous Productions

  • ROCK GARDEN: A LOVE STORY (Short) (Producer; Director; Writer) - CBC / Gloryous Productions

  • SHANE FISTELL: A PORTRAIT OF TOURETTE SYNDROME ‡ (Short Doc) - Tourette Syndrome Foundation of Canada

  • WHY DO I DANCE? (Short Doc) (Producer; Director; Writer) - Ontario Arts Council

  • LIVE, LOVE, ART…OAC’s 50th ANNIVERSARY (Producer; Director; Writer) - Ontario Arts Council

* Premiere – Whistler Film Festival; Nominee – Borsos Award, Winner – William F. White Reel Canadian Indie; Best Director – Canadian Film Fest, Winner of Women In The Director’s Chair Feature Film Award, Spotlight on Screenwriters – Official Selection, 2ND Round of Competition at Sundance Screenwriting Lab, Winner of Telefilm Canada New Voices Award

** Corus Fearless Female Filmmaker Award, Reel Asian So You Think You Can Pitch Award

*** WIFT Short Film Showcase – Audience Choice Award, Sarasota Film Festival  Audience Choice Award, Worldfest-Houston – Special Jury Prize, Seattle Film Festival for Children – Children’s Jury AwardReel Asian – LIFT & Fuji Award for Best Film, TIFF Kids – Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film 

‡ One Screen – Best Editing Award, Marketing Awards – 3 Golds for PSA, Best Shorts Competition – Merit AwardThe One Show – Shortlist, ADCC – Merit Award

TELEVISION

  • HEARTLAND XV (Director) - CBC / Seven24 Films

  • CORONER, season 3 (Director, 2 eps.) - The CW Network / CBC / Back Alley

  • LEO’S POLLINATORS (Director, 1 ep.)

  • CAPTAIN FANG (Story Editor) (In Development) - Citytv / Breakthrough Ent.

  • BLOOD & WATER, season 3 (Story Editor; Writer) - Citytv / Breakthrough Ent. - Wrote episode #304

  • *IT’S MY PARTY 6 (Director; 12 episodes) - TVO / Bristow Media Group

  • ODD SQUAD: MOBILE UNIT (Director) - PBS / Sinking Ship Entertainment

  • DINO DANA IV (Director) - Amazon Prime / Sinking Ship Ent

  • LEO’S FISHHEADS (6 episodes) - TVO / Fifth Ground Entertainment

  • WHEN I GROW UP (Director; 2 episodes) - TVO / Riverbank Pictures

  • VARIOUS TEASERS - CFC / Bell Media

*2020 Canadian Screen Award Nominee – Best Direction, Children’s or Youth (shared with Sharon Lewis)

M.O.W. AND MINISERIES

LEFT FOR DEAD: THE ASHLEY REEVES STORY -Lifetime / Cineflix  2022 Canadian Screen Award Nominee – Best Direction, TV movie