Seung-Jun Yi is a documentary director/producer born in Busan, South Korea, 1971 and based in Seoul.
He studied East Asian history at university and has been working as a documentary director/producer since 1999. His work focuses on the life of unseen minorities, which has informed his signature style of filmmaking. He has directed several feature-length documentary films. 'Children of God' (2008) follows a group of siblings who eke out an existence on the sacred Bagmati River in Nepal. The feature made its rounds on the international film festival circuit, including Hot Docs Festival and Jeonju Film Festival, where it won the NETPAC Award.
Yi received a Sundance Institute grant and served as director, DP and editor on his subsequent documentary, the critically lauded 'Planet of Snail' (2011), which follows Young-Chan, who has been deaf and blind since childhood, as he gently moves through life with his partner Soon-Ho. 'Planet of Snail' was a darling of the festival circuit, either receiving nominations or winning awards at Tribeca Film Festival, Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival(Best Feature-length Documentary in 2011), Dubai International Film Festival, Silverdocs and Documenta Madrid, amongst others.
His next film, 'Wind of the Moon' (2014), which he wrote, directed, edited and served as DP, recounts the journey of a mother and her daughter, who was born deaf and blind, as they navigate the world. He received grants from the Sundance Institute, Tribeca Institute and Korean Film Council to make the film. His latest feature documentary film, 'Crossing Beyond', which is PyeongChang Winter Games Official Film of International Olympic Committee, travelled Busan International Film Festival, Tokyo International Film Festival, Black Nights Film Festival(Tallinn), etc.
He has directed many TV documentaries and several short documentary films as well. 'Breathing, in a Wasteland' (2002) is about an old woman growing plants at a demolition site for redevelopment in Seoul, which was introduced at national film festivals. He worked with photographers for a documentary magazine, making short video clips for the website of the magazine on distinct look of the countryside or disappearing lifestyle like abandoned school, mining village, shaman, and so on. May I Talk to You? (2015) is a voice-based short documentary, dealing with teenagers issues. He made use of voices recorded at specialised centres for the youth which was supported by UNICEF Korea. 'Like Wind, Two Woman's Story' is about two old women, who had been living at a remote mountain area for more than 30 years where no electricity reached. It was broadcasted through a major channel, and he’s got the prize at Producers’ and Directors’ Award of Korea.
World Press Photo Involvement:
2019 Digital Storytelling Contest winner
Seung-Jun Yi on Social Media:
Instagram: @fieldofvision
Twitter: @fieldofvision
