Pioneering filmmaker Kim Ki-duk, who brought South Korean cinema to the world, dies from Covid-19 in Latvia at age 59

11 Dec, 2020 12:11 / Updated 3 years ago

Renowned South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk - the winner of awards at the Berlin, Cannes and Venice film festivals, in breakthroughs for Korean cinema- has died at 59 from Covid-19 complications developed while visiting Latvia.

Kim’s family confirmed to South Korean media that the director's death occurred on Friday.

The celebrated art-house figure had reportedly arrived in Latvia to buy a house in the Baltic country, but later failed to show up for a scheduled meeting, Latvian news website Delfi said. 

Russian documentary film director Vitaly Mansky told Delfi that Kim had died as a result of Covid-19 complications at 1:20am local time.

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Kim was the only South Korean director to win awards at all three major European film festivals: Cannes, Venice, and Berlin.

His film ‘Pieta’, a drama about a debt collector, earned him a Golden Lion in Venice in 2012.

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