Jonathan Yi was born in Southern California in 1982, but spent his
formative years in the San Francisco Bay Area, where his father
followed the boom of the Silicon Valley.
Learning the guitar at a young age and being immersed in the Bay
Area music scene, Jonathan formed his first rock band before hitting
puberty and, since junior high school, has released and distributed
his own music, officially forming his own independent record label,
Second Rate Records, in 1998, as a sophomore in high school, using
his own raised capital. Since then, his releases have sold thousands
of copies domestically and internationally through an international
distributor.
He spent most of his teen years playing music with his band, Spishak,
sharing the stage with such big name acts as Green Day and Weezer,
among others, eventually becoming a featured act during Vans’
Warped Tour 2000.
While in high school, Jonathan’s short video projects, developed
in his video production class, began to win numerous awards throughout
California and Texas film/multimedia festivals. Encouraged and guided
by his video production teacher, Jonathan realized that though his
love of music was strong, he could not commit to it as a career;
so he left it all behind to pursue a life in filmmaking when he
arrived at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in the Fall of 2001.
Since then, Jonathan’s student films have received wide regard,
and he has also become an award winning music video director and
cinematographer, being featured in such magazines as CREATIVITY
(commercial trade paper) and VICE. His previous short films have
been screened domestically in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles
and beyond, and internationally in England and Canada.
As a director of photography, he has shot at least one project every
month for the past three years and has put together an impressive,
award winning filmography. Jonathan currently resides in Brooklyn,
where he continues to shoot and direct short films, music videos
and commercials on multiple formats. During his time as an undergraduate
at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts film program,
he has already worked professionally extensively and has been commissioned
by companies such as ConEdison, Time Warner, Red Bull, The Village
Voice and others for directorial work.
In
2006, Jonathan was honored at the MOMA at the AICP Awards for his
work on the spec commercial "SUSHI" for Monster.com.
Partial
List of Film Festivals That Have Showcased the Work of Jonathan
Yi:
Hypefest (CA); First Run Film Festival (NY); Visionfest (NY); Ithaca
Film Festival (NY); Spudfest (Idaho); Rome International Film Festival
(GA); California Independent Film Festival (CA); Taste of Art (NY);
Oxford Film Festival (Mississippi); First Take Student Film Festival
(Canada); Free Range Film Festival (MI); Independent Film Society
(CA); San Diego/Carlsbad Film Festival (CA); Coney Island Film Festival
(NY); Silver Lake Film Festival (CA); Hi Mom! Film Festival (NC);
Reel Deel TV (NY); Gimli International Film Festival (Canada); Rooftop
Films (NY); Freight Film Salon (NY); Open-Air Film Fest Weiterstadt
(Germany)
Select
Former Work
2004: “I’m Sammy Hagar”
Official Selections: Filmstock International Film Festival 2004
(England); Cinerama 2004 (FL); San Francisco Short Film Festival
2004 (CA); Arlene’s Grocery Picture Show 2004 (NY), Nodimage
Productions Cinema 2004 (NY); NYU Intermediate Showcase 2005 (NY)
2005:
“Arlene’s Grocery Picture Show” Commercial
Spot
Companies involved: Arlene’s Grocery (commissioned by festival
director after seeing previous work), Time Warner, The Village Voice,
World Select Beer, Triple Eight, Suicide Girls, Jolly Time Popcorn,
Hotel On Rivington, AV Workshop, 1-800-Postcards. Television Rotation:
over 100 channels in the New York area.
2004:
“3 Farms” Commercial Spot
Companies involved: Time Warner, ConEdison, Sprint PCS, The Village
Voice, LMDC, City of New York Parks & Recreation Television
Rotation: over 100 channels in the New York area, played in heavy
rotation for one month prior to the event.
2004:
Mates of State, “Goods”
Awards/Screenings: Official Grand Prize Winner of MOS Video Contest;
Featured/distributed on DVD by VICE Magazine (Feb 2005); Arlene’s
Grocery Picture Show 2005, New York, NY (Winner, Best Music Video
– Pop); Broadcast on FUSE TV and MTV (National)
2003:
Mike Park, “On That Stage”
Awards/Screenings: Arlene’s Grocery Picture Show 2004, New
York, NY (Winner, Best Music Video – Pop); Anthology Film
Archives Theatre, New York, NY (New Filmmakers, Best of Arlene’s
2004)
2002:
The Locust, “Moth-Eaten Deer Head”
Awards/Screenings: Arlene’s Grocery Picture Show 2003, New
York, NY (Winner, Best Music Video – Hard Rock); Anthology
Film Archives Theatre, New York, NY (New Filmmakers, Best of Arlene’s
2003); Video Kill Film Festival, Vancouver, B.C. (Official Selection)
For
more information on Jonathan's past work, please visit www.hellacine.com
