Christina July Kim
| Christina July Kim | |
|---|---|
 Christina July Kim, photo by © Jeff Mosier |
|
| Born | July 12, 1987 Monterey Park, California, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2007–present |
Christina July Kim (born July 12, 1987) is an American actress. She began her film debut working on indie films that were screened at the annual LA Shorts Fest, Cinema City International Film Festival, and S.F. Frozen Film Festival to name a few. After guest appearances on the television show Easy Money, her break came when she was given a Taft-Hartley for her role as Xiu in Doc West (2009) a Spaghetti Western starring Terence Hill and Paul Sorvino where she gained international recognition.
Biography
CJ was born in Monterey Park, California and moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico when she was 6 years old. She grew up in the Northeast Heights of Albuquerque and was the only Korean American girl in her class all throughout school. Although CJ seemed very happy, she was very ashamed of her Korean heritage growing up. She first took a speech and drama class taught by M. Mercer in 8th grade where she landed the role of "Buttercup" in her school's production of The Princess Bride. She escaped racial prejudices through acting and found freedom of expression through the theatre. At La Cueva High School, she continued to study acting and with the counsel of her high school drama teachers D. Keyson and S. Hobbs, she decided to apply to the Bachelor of Fine Arts acting program at the University of Southern California. Out of 500+ applicants, CJ was accepted into the prestigious BFA program. Before graduating from USC, CJ was invited to audition for Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation. Initially, her visit went so well that she decided to take a break from USC and moved to Seoul. Things didn't go as planned, but while she was abroad, she landed a gig at Arirang TV as a radio DJ.
Career
2007–2008: Early work
She began her work in indie films, with her very first being the independent short "Remember the Days". The film was accepted into multiple well known film festivals such as the LA Shorts Fest[1] as well as the Vancouver Asian Film Festival[2] and was well received by the audience. Shortly after, CJ filmed her first feature "Internal Behaviors" which was theatrically released on Halloween in 2008[3]
The following year, she filmed "The Cheapest Man in the Room" and was back at the LA Shorts Fest[4] and also to the Cinema City International Film Festival for the screening where the short left audiences wondering "Am I that cheap?"[5] The film went on to be recognized in prestigious film circles winning numerous awards and being recognized as a Merit Winner at the Accolade Competition.[6] This film worked closely with the Screen Actors Guild[7] and was a foreshadowing of CJ's eventual Taft-Hartley into SAG through Doc West which she later filmed at the end of 2008.[8]
Body of Work
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Internal Behaviors | Jessica | Independent feature |
| 2007 | Remember the Days | Nancy | Independent short |
| 2008 | The Cheapest Man in the Room | Jenny | Independent short |
| 2009 | Freudian Eyebrow | Flip-flop | Independent feature |
| 2009 | Office of the Dead | Liz – Project Manager | Independent feature |
| 2009 | Baby Amy | Evelyn | Independent feature |
| 2010 | In the Minds of Men | Kim Park | Independent feature |
| 2010 | Placebo | Melody | Independent feature |
| 2010 | 2012 Seeking Closure | Kim Vaughn | Independent feature |
| 2010 | Ricky | Brigette | Independent feature |
| 2010 | Casting Shadows | Shannon | Independent short |
| 2010 | To the Brink | Svetlana | Independent short |
| 2011 | Caos and Consequences | Evelyn | Independent feature |
| 2011 | Strange Hearts | Claire | Independent short |
| 2011 | Internal Behaviors 2 | Jessica | Independent feature |
| 2012 | Friends of the Bride | Meredith | Independent feature |
| 2012 | A Simple Touch | MaeLing | Independent short |
| 2012 | Dante's Inferno Documented | Speaker - 3rd Circle: The Gluttons | Independent feature |
| 2014 | Dante's Paradiso Documented | Speaker: 8th Sphere - Fixed Stars | Independent feature |
Television appearances
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Easy Money | Sang Hee | Episodes: "Bags, Bangles and Booty" and "BassMaster" |
| 2009 | Doc West | Xiu | Spaghetti Western for "Italian TV" |
| 2009 | Triggerman | Xiu | Spaghetti Western for "Italian TV" |
References
- ^ LA Shorts Fest (September 8, 2007). "Program No 22". lashortsfest.com. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ VAFF Staff (October 21, 2006). "VAFF Announces 2007 Festival Line-Up". vaff.org. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ Kristi Mitsuda (October 30, 2008). "Movie Reviews: Filth and Wisdom, The Haunting of Molly Hartley, Splinter". L.A. Weekly Film Critics. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ LA Shorts Fest (August 16, 2008). "Program No 8". lashortsfest.com. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ VK Shah (2008). "A fresh and funny short film by V.K. Shah". vkshah.info. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ Accolade (February 27, 2009). "Award of Merit Winners". accoladecompetition.org. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ Making the Movie, KS (November 25, 2008). "Laughing All the Way to Shady Pines". WordPress. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
- ^ Heyse Online (September 14, 2009). "Doc West-La Sfida". heyse-online.de. Retrieved 2010-07-22.
