Kogonada

Not to be confused with the Japanese screenwriter Kogo Noda.
Kogonada
Kogonada in 2017
Born
Seoul, South Korea
Occupation(s)Video essayist, filmmaker
Years active2012–present
Notable work
Children2
Websitekogonada.com

Kogonada (sometimes styled :: kogonada[1]) is a South Korean-born American filmmaker.[2]

Kogonada is known for his video essays that analyze the content, form, and structure of various films and television series. The essays frequently use narration and editing as lenses, and often highlight a director's aesthetic. Kogonada is a regular contributor to Sight & Sound and is frequently commissioned by The Criterion Collection to create supplemental videos for its home-video releases. He has also written, directed and edited the feature films Columbus (2017) and After Yang (2021). He also directed two episodes of the Star Wars Disney+ series The Acolyte (2024).

Early life, family and education

Kogonada was born in Seoul.[3] He emigrated from South Korea as a child to the US; he was raised in Indiana and Chicago.[4]

Pseudonym

Kogonada took his pseudonym from Kogo Noda, a frequent screenwriter of Yasujirō Ozu's films.[5] He explained to Filmmaker:

I like Chris Marker's idea about your work being your work. I’ve also never identified much with my American name, which always feels a little strange to see or hear ... And I'm quite fond of heteronyms.[6]

In a 2018 interview with the Financial Times, Kogonada stated:

If I'm honest, the pseudonym was about being an Asian-American too. There is something about being an immigrant in America and having the power to name yourself.[7]

Video essays

Kogonada made his first video essay, Breaking Bad // POV, in January 2012.[8] Using clips from the American television series Breaking Bad, the video displays the series' use of numerous point-of-view shots from unusual angles and objects. Kogonada was inspired to create the video essay while he watched the series, noticing a recurring visual aesthetic used throughout the series.[9][10]

Kogonada's first commissioned work was for Sight & Sound in February 2013, titled The World According to Kore-eda Hirokazu, which highlights director Kore-eda's regular focus on everyday life in his films.[10][11] Since then, most of his video essays are commissions for companies which include the British Film Institute (publisher of Sight & Sound),[12] The Criterion Collection,[13] Samsung,[14] and the Lincoln Motor Company.[15]

Kogonada's works are part of a growing movement of video essays as a visual form of film analysis, appreciation, and criticism on the Internet;[16][17] other video essayists include Nelson Carvajal and Tony Zhou,[18][19] as well as film critics Kevin B. Lee and Matt Zoller Seitz.[20][21][22]

Kogonada's video essay Hands of Bresson was chosen by filmmaker Robert Greene for Sight & Sound as one of the best documentaries of 2014, with Greene stating that works like his "make clear that the line between nonfiction film and video essay is at best blurry and the best work should simply be celebrated as cinema."[23]

In March 2016, Kogonada was part of the official jury for the 16th LPA Film Festival at the Canary Islands, Spain, where he taught a master class and had screenings for 14 of his video essays at the "Bande à part" section.[2][24][25]

Among Kogonada's video essays on influential film directors are:[26]

  • Breaking Bad: POV (2011)[27]
  • Wes Anderson: From Above (2011)[27]
  • Quentin Tarantino: From Below (2011)[27]
  • Sounds of Aronofsky (2012)[26][27]
  • Kubrick: One-Point Perspective (2012)[26][27]
  • Ozu: Passageways (2012)[26][27]
  • The World According to Koreeda Hirokazu (2013)[26][1][27]
  • Malick: Fire & Water (2013)[26][27]
  • What Is Neorealism? (2013)[26][1]
  • Linklater: On Cinema & Time (2013)[26][1][27]
  • Wes Anderson: Centered (2014)[26][27]
  • The Fox & Mr. Anderson (2014)[28]
  • Hands of Bresson (2014)[26][29]
  • Eyes of Hitchcock (2014)[26][29]
  • Trick or Truth (2014)[26][28]
  • Auteur in Space (2015)[26][27]
  • Mirrors of Bergman (2015)[26][29]
  • Godard in Fragments (2016)[26][29]
  • Way of Ozu (2016)[26][27]
  • Once There Was Everything (2017)[29]
  • Nothing at Stake (2020)[30]

Technique

Kogonada's video essays typically showcase a particular theme or aesthetic regularly used by a filmmaker either throughout a filmography or within a single work.[10] Some examples are his three video essays on the aesthetics of American director Wes Anderson, who is known for using unusually symmetrical framing in his films.[31][32][33]

His video essays are formed through the juxtaposition of images, conveying thoughts through a particular arrangement of clips.[6] In an interview for Nashville Scene in March 2015, Kogonada likened creating video essays with preparing sushi: "With sushi, every cut matters. And so do the ingredients. Those two ongoing choices are the difference. What you select, and how you cut it." In comparing written essays with visual essays, Kogonada noted how words form precise observations of ideas, while visuals could convey a particular idea without providing a definite explanation. He explained that "[i]f you want to delve deep into theory, texts are the perfect medium .... However, when I'm making visual essays, I treat words as supplementary."[10]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Director Writer Notes
2017 Columbus Yes Yes Also editor
2021 After Yang Yes Yes
2025 A Big Bold Beautiful Journey Yes No Also executive producer

Television

Year Title Director Executive
producer 		Notes
2022 Pachinko Yes Yes 4 episodes
2024 The Acolyte Yes No 2 episodes

Accolades

Year Award Category Title Result Ref.
2022 Peabody Awards Entertainment Pachinko Won [34]

References

  1. ^ a b c d ":: kogonada". BFI. British Film Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  2. ^ a b Hidalgo, Mónica (9 March 2016). "Kogonada and Simone Grau, at the Festival's Workshops". LPA Film Festival. Promocion Ciudad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria SA. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  3. ^ Ciampaglia, Dante A. (8 August 2017). "In Columbus, Filmmaker Kogonada Begins a New Conversation About Modernism". Architectural Record. Retrieved 31 December 2024.
  4. ^ Yu, Brandon (2022-03-04). "With His Sci-Fi Android, a Filmmaker Considers What It Means to Be Alive". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  5. ^ Buder, Emily (2017-08-08). "'Columbus': Video Essayist Kogonada on His Stunning Feature Debut and Why Critics Should Make Movies". No Film School. Retrieved 2019-12-05. While writing a Ph.D. dissertation on Yasujirō Ozu, Kogonada—the nom de guerre of the Korean-born director, inspired by Ozu's screenwriter, Kogo Noda—came across an article about a little-known town called Columbus, Indiana.
  6. ^ a b Macaulay, Scott (17 July 2014). ":: kogonada". Filmmaker Magazine. Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  7. ^ Leigh, Danny (2018-09-28). "Director Kogonada: 'Film gave me breath'". Financial Times. Retrieved 2022-09-03.
  8. ^ "Film Studies in Motion: Breaking Bad // POV [by Kogonada]". Film Studies in Motion: From audiovisual essay to academic research video. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  9. ^ :: kogonada (9 January 2012). "Breaking Bad // POV on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  10. ^ a b c d Ridley, Jim (19 March 2015). "kogonada: The Image Master". Nashville Scene. Southcomm Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  11. ^ :: kogonada (18 March 2013). "The World According to Koreeda Hirokazu on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  12. ^ :: kogonada (23 February 2015). "The long conversation: Richard Linklater on cinema and time". Sight & Sound | BFI. British Film Institute. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  13. ^ :: kogonada (5 December 2014). "Watch Criterion Designs". The Criterion Collection. The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  14. ^ :: kogonada (15 June 2015). "Elemental on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  15. ^ The Lincoln Motor Company (2 September 2015). "Expansion: The Feeling Stays With You on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  16. ^ Lee, Kevin B. (December 17, 2015). "Poll: The Best Video Essays of 2015". Keyframe. Our Film Festival, Inc. Archived from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 24 July 2016. ... there are more practicing video essayists and regularly producing sites than can fit into a cohesive network or community .... As with just about everything related to the Internet, too much is the new normal in the world of video essays.
  17. ^ "In Reference to: Visual Essays". Berlinale Talents. Berlinale Talents. 15 February 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016. Recent years have seen the increased popularity of short online videos that explore films or the œuvre of a director by reworking and commenting on shots and scenes to reveal new insights.
  18. ^ Carvajal, Nelson. "Nelson Carvajal on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  19. ^ Zhou, Tony. "Tony Zhou on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  20. ^ Lee, Kevin B. (17 June 2014). "Filmmakers in Disguise". Slate. The Slate Group. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  21. ^ Marshall, Colin (19 February 2015). "What's the Big Deal About Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel? Matt Zoller Seitz's Video Essay Explains". Open Culture. Open Culture, LLC. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  22. ^ Seitz, Matt Zoller; Tafoya, Scout (2 March 2015). "The Unloved, Part Fifteen: "The Lone Ranger" & "Heaven's Gate"| MZS". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  23. ^ Greene, Robert (4 August 2015). "The best documentaries of 2014". Sight & Sound| BFI. British Film Institute. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  24. ^ "KOGONADA'S WORKS". :: Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival. Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Archived from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  25. ^ Hidalgo, Mónica (11 March 2016). "Kogonada's film essay works, in Bande à part". LPA Film Festival. Promocion Ciudad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria SA. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  26. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p :: kogonada. ":: kogonada Home Page". kogonada. kogonada.org. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  27. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l kogonada. "kogonada Vimeo". vimeo. vimeo.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  28. ^ a b :: kogonada. ":: kogonada Criterion Collection Author Spotlight". The Criterion Collection. criterioncollection.org. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  29. ^ a b c d e Kogonada. "Kogonada Criterion Collection Author Spotlight". The Criterion Collection. criterioncollection.com. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  30. ^ Kogonada. "Nothing at Stake". The Criterion Collection. criterioncollection.org. Retrieved 2018-11-20.
  31. ^ :: kogonada (30 January 2012). "Wes Anderson // From Above on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  32. ^ The Fox & Mr. Anderson. YouTube. March 11, 2014. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  33. ^ :: kogonada (17 March 2014). "Wes Anderson // Centered on Vimeo". Vimeo. Vimeo, Inc. Retrieved 24 July 2016.
  34. ^ Voyles, Blake (September 14, 2023). "83rd Peabody Award Winners". Retrieved September 14, 2023.

Literature