Shawn Ku

Birth Name:

Shawn Ku

Birth Place:

New Jersey, United States

Profession

Director, Writer, Actor, Producer

Was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award for "The American Mall․"
Won the Jury Prize at the AFI Fest for his role in "Samsara" in 2001
Won the International Federation of Film Critics' Prize and the Gryphon Award for best film for "Beautiful Boy․"
Graduated from Harvard University with a degree in chemistry and trained at the University of Southern California Film School
Started out as a Broadway performer who appeared in the shows "Fosse," "Miss Saigon" and "The King and I․"
Quote: "All filmmakers are storytellers, and I guess I just realized I had stories to tell․ And they all come from my life․ All I really write is myself, again and again; they just happen to be with different faces and different voices․"
Best known as the director of "Beautiful Boy" and "Pretty Dead Girl․"

2002Grand Jury Prize - Special MentionWinner
2009DGA Award - Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs:Nominated
2010Best New Director - New Directors Award:Nominated
2010Youth Jury AwardNominated
2010Tokyo Grand PrixNominated
2010International Critics' Award (FIPRESCI) - Discovery:Winner
2011Golden Gryphon - Best Film:Winner

Fast Facts