Paul Kim

Biography

Paul B. Kim is a professor of screen arts in the Communication Division of Seaver College at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. He holds an MFA in Film and Electronic Media from the School of Communication at American University where he served as a graduate fellow in the Center for Media & Social Impact funded through the Ford Foundation, and collaborated with the Center for Environmental Filmmaking as well as the MIT Media Lab on their new media literacy project. Kim also completed the M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications program for marketing and media executives at Northwestern University, exploring the use of data and digital technologies in the media industry with a focus on audience analytics, brand communication, content strategy, and digital innovation.

Kim has 20 years of experience in the film, television, and media industries as a new media producer and documentary filmmaker exploring topics in human rights, global health, education, and the intersection of religion and politics. His projects have taken him across six continents, specializing in the art of cinéma vérité within culturally rich, sometimes demanding, and frequently underrepresented locations such as Tibet, Venezuela, the Amazon, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Arctic Circle, the Navajo Nation, Russia, and Haiti. Kim consults with organizations on digital content strategy and in building brand sentiment through strategic narratives. 

Some of the highlights of Professor Kim’s academic career include the establishment and oversight of a unique undergraduate documentary filmmaking program, chairing a department overseeing numerous programs within communication and the visual arts, and being a recipient of his institution’s highest teaching award. His student teams have been awarded with some of the highest acknowledgements in the field, such as the Pacemaker Award from the Associated Collegiate Press and a Student Academy Award nomination. At Pepperdine, Kim teaches courses in production, branded content and documentary storytelling, and proudly engages in participatory scholarship with his students and grassroots organizations. He is a member of A-Doc and the Documentary Cinematographers Alliance.

Education

• MFA Film and Electronic Media, American University, 2009
• M.S. Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University, 2023