Leadership » Oscar

ATLANTA (March 5, 2007) -- Academy award winning team member and 1997 Agnes Scott College alumna Amy S. Kim credits her alma mater with at least some of the leadership skills she now possesses.

“I loved the part where we went to orientation when someone brought up the statistics about how males dominate coeducational schools and how I could actually become a leader at this school,” Kim recalled from her earliest days at Agnes Scott. “And I think that it also taught me a lot about leadership in business.

Kim was part of the production team that won an Academy Award in the “Best Live Action Short Film" category Sunday as one of the producers for "West Bank Story," a musical comedy about cross-cultural love.

Kim's biography for the movie website describes her as: "A proud southerner from Atlanta, Amy loves a simple story with a lot of humor."

A graduate of Central Gwinnett High School, Kim earned a bachelors degree in English at ASC. She lives in New York City and works as a producer for the Nickelodeon cable TV network. She also has worked with Warner Bros., Gold Circle Films and on the NBC television sitcom "Joey."

"This is her first Oscar," said 1995 ASC graduate Merisa Aranas Pasternak. "Amy, I am so proud of you and could not be any happier for your success. We look forward to many more Oscar wins in your future!!!"

Kenneth Turan, film critic for the Los Angeles Times, describes the film this way in his review from Sunday, Jan. 21, 2007: "Set where else but the West Bank, this sharp and funny mock musical features a forbidden love between Israeli soldier David and the Palestinian Fatima, a love that cannot be because their families operate the deadly rival snack stands Hummus Hut and Kosher King. Expertly made and impressive down to the finger snapping of the rival gangs and the mugging of a camel named Stormy, West Bank Story shows that short films done right retain the power to surprise and delight the way they always have."

“I think having an Oscar is definitely going to open up some doors for me if I want to start doing my own stuff creatively,” Kim said. “It's already starting to happen. I've been having a lot of interviews and a lot of calls from people saying they're interested in meeting with me. So it's definitely been exciting and a boost to my career."

Kim's father, Naksin Kim, and mother, Hae Kyung Cha, still live in the Atlanta area. Her sister lives with her in New York and works for Major League Baseball. Her brother attends college in California.

When asked about her biography posted on the website, Kim admitted her love for the South.

"I was born and raised in South, and I love being from the South." And Agnes Scott?

"Oh God I love that school," she recalled. "Those were some of the best years of my life."

- From About Agnes Scott.