By Gracie Suavillo

As King Kong played on the screen, every sound around him silenced as he focused on the one thing that intrigued him the most: King Kong splitting the Tyrannosaurus rex’s jaw in half.
At the age of five, filmmaking and directing have been David Kim’s (’18) main focus.
Kim was exposed to the film industry by his father Jacob Kim who worked as a producer in the Korean film and television industry. Occasionally, he would take Kim to the sets and bring home props. Although Kim’s father no longer works in the industry, they continually share with each other their passion for film.
“I see David working somewhere on a film set,” Jacob said. “Most likely, I think he will be an indie filmmaker because he enjoys creative control.”
Kim’s inspiration for his films derive from the characters and the struggles they go through.
Once he started creating films, everything became a story to him.
Kim made several films and projects that have been published for people to view on his YouTube channel, MrDokim. One is about what Hoover has to offer students. “Work in Progress”, about Kim’s motives about filmmaking, was an official selection for the 2016 All American High School Film Festival. Currently, Kim is working on “Finn” about a high school janitor who breaks free from his routine-based life at a costly price.
“Film makes you observe and realize how much beauty there is,” Kim said. “Everyone has a story to tell.”
His favorite part of the filmmaking process are people’s reactions from watching films.
“His films are very high quality compared to a lot of student films I’ve seen,” friend Javier Mejia (’19) said. “You can tell how much work is put into the recording and editing.”
Moreover, he loves the visual and auditory side of filmmaking. Film is visual storytelling. Through sequences of 24 images per second, the filmmaker is able to communicate to the audience.
“I love it because visuals in filmmaking are not bound by traditional guidelines and obsolete techniques,” Kim said. “I love what directors Ingmar Bergman and David Lynch have brought to film. The surreal elements of their movies are an enjoyment to watch.”
When it comes to collaboration, Kim does not have a preference with whom he works with because he “can keep an open mind about the type of people I work with and the unique skill sets they possess.”
Kim’s family have been a tremendous part of his journey because of their neverending support. They have supported him financially by buying his equipment and, most importantly, encouraged him every step of the way.
“David is an amazing filmmaker because he is diligent and motivated to keep learning, watching, and making films,” brother Joseph Kim (’19) said.
Kim encountered a few bumps throughout his filmmaking journey such as learning how to work with other people, understanding how to use the camera, and learning how to capture a story through a camera.
“I overcame these obstacles by simply doing,” Kim said. “There’s no big secret or some sort of book that taught me.”
In the future, Kim pictures himself working in the film industry.
“As long as I’m anywhere on the film set,” said Kim, “I just wanna be in the movie environment.”