Kim Il-rhan
| Kim Il-rhan | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| 🏳️ Nationality | South Korean |
| 💼 Occupation |
|
| 📆 Years active | 2002–present |
| 🏢 Organization | PINKS (co-founder) |
| Known for | Two Doors (2012); 3xFTM (2008); Edhi Alice (2024); Mamasang:Remember Me This Way (2005) |
| 🏅 Awards | Woman in Film of the Year (2018) MPA Best Producer, Wildflower Film Awards (2024) Women's News Award, Seoul International Women's Film Festival |
Kim Il-rhan also known as Ilrhan Kim) is a South Korean filmmaker and activist. She co-founded the PINKS collective, which is a space for queer feminists to make films. Over two decades, she's produced work on trans folks, sex workers, and those affected by state violence in South Korea. In 2018, she got the Woman in Film of the Year award. More recently, she was awarded the MPA Best Producer at the Wildflower Film Awards 2024 and an Award at the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival from Women's News.[1]
Background
A key part of Kim's journey took place in 2002, while organizing a seminar, she met Han Younghee and Lee Hyuk-sang, whom she'd soon be collaborating very closely with. These discussions inspired the start of their activism in queer and feminist politics, and together they formed PINKS in 2004.
According to Kim, young Korean feminist groups were full of passion back then, but many lacked any solid framework in order to create something. She felt PINKS needed both direction and staying power, and that it had to consistently produce work for many years. Her approach paid off, though in the end. Over twenty years have passed since then, and PINKS remains active, sustaining operations via festival grants and support from roughly 500 contributors.[2][3]
Founding of PINKS
PINKS whose full name is, Solidarity for Sexually Minor Cultures & Human Rights was officially founded in around 2004. PINKS is a group that makes documentary films and other media focused on issues of queer, feminism, and human rights in the absence of any association with the Korean film industry.[4]
Films
In 2005, she released her debut, 'Mamasang: Remember Me This Way', about a bar manager and migrant workers near a U.S. military base in South Korea. Then, '3xFTM' (2008) came out, becoming the first South Korean doc on female-to-male trans folks. It followed three trans men through their daily routines, adding to the visibility of this community.[5]
"Two Doors" (2012), made with Hong Ji-you, rebuilds the sad 2009 Yongsan tragedy where five evictees and a cop died during a forced removal. The film drew much attention and gained over 70,000 viewers in South Korea.[6]
Her most recent film, Edhi Alice (2024), is about two trans women in Seoul. One is preparing for gender-affirming surgery, and the other is a crew member on the film itself. It premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) in the Netherlands.[7]
Other Work As a Producer
Along with her directing, Kim has produced many PINKS films created by other directors, including:
- The Time of Our Lives (2009), about Choi Hyun-suk, an out lesbian activist who ran for political office in South Korea.
- Nora Noh (2013), which was directed by Kim Seong-hee, about the South Korean fashion designer Nora Noh.
Themes and Style
Kim's works mostly deal with the lives of those who don't follow the norm of society in South Korea; trans people, sex workers, LGBTQ+ people, and those who have been subjected to violence by the state. Her filmmaking style is very observational and not confrontational in its form or nature, because she truly allows her subjects to tell their own stories. In some of her later works, like "Two Doors" and "Edhi Alice," Kim goes further and questions the documentary form itself.[9]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Mamasang: Remember Me This Way | Debut film |
| 2008 | 3xFTM | First South Korean FTM documentary |
| 2012 | Two Doors | 70,000+ viewers |
| 2016 | The Remnants | Sequel to Two Doors |
| 2024 | Edhi Alice | Premiered at IDFA |
References
- ↑ "Edhi Alice". Queer East. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Making a Production: PINKS". International Documentary Association. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Directors Byun Gyu Ri and Kim Il Ran speak about their queer, feminist documentary filmmaking". Yale Daily News. 2024-04-12. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Making a Production: PINKS". International Documentary Association. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "3xFTM Spotlights Sexual Minorities". The Korea Times. 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "KIM Il-ran". Korean Film Council (KOFIC). Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Edhi Alice (2024) by Ilrhan Kim – Film Review". Asian Movie Pulse. 2025-11-13. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Il Rhan Kim 김일란". otherwise.net. 2021-05-23. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
- ↑ "Notebook Primer: Queer Korean Cinema". MUBI. 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2026-06-04.
External links
Category:South Korean women film directors Category:South Korean LGBTQ rights activists Category:Feminist filmmakers Category:Living people Category:South Korean film directors
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