Choi Kookhee

I. Introduction

Choi Kook-hee, is a South Korean film director and screenwriter.

II. Career

Born in 1976, Choi Kook-hee first studied Arabic at the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, though by his own admission he would often miss classes to shoot documentaries. After his two years of mandatory military service, he entered the University of Wisconsin, United States, to study film. When he came back to Korea, he tried to work as an assistant director but he soon realized that nobody was willing to give him this opportunity. Because of that, he decided to undergo a specialization program at the Korea National University of Arts, which he eventually completed in 2008. In the meantime, he managed to work with Hong Sang-soo, one of his favorite directors, on Tale of Cinema (2005).

He made his long feature directorial debut in 2016 with sport drama film Split. Choi wrote the script after seeing an autistic man bowling in a hilarious posture but with exceptionally high performance. He could not forget that man's image for days, believing that if such a genius exists, someone will try to take advantage of the genius's ability.

III. Filmography

Year	Poster	Title
2016		Split
2018		Default
2020		Life is Beautiful

IV. Awards