TOKYO – AOI Pro. proudly invites highly acclaimed award-winning Korean-American filmmaker, Joseph Kahn to speak about his personal obsession in creating visual connections and his ability to keep a pulse on pop culture while shifting creative gears and genres between music videos, commercials and feature films.

From unassuming beginnings, Joseph Kahn exploded into one of the world’s most influential filmmakers of pop culture today. What are the driving elements of Joseph Kahn's craft that made him the success he is today?

Date & Time	March 20, 2019　4:50-5:25pm ICT
Place	PEACH EXHIBITION AND CONVENTION HALL / Pattaya, Thailand

About Joseph Kahn

Joseph Kahn was born in Busan, South Korea and raised in Houston, Texas. After dropping out of film school, he began his directing career in his teens, shooting music videos for local musicians. He has worked with some of the world's biggest artists in entertainment such as Taylor Swift, Imagine Dragons, Eminem, U2, Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, to name a few. He has directed commercials for Samsung, Adidas, Target, Johnny Walker, BMW, Mercedes, T-Mobile, Budweiser, as well as feature films such as “Bodied” (2017), “Detention” (2011), and “Torque” (2004).
He has won multiple Grammys, MTV VMAs, Clios, Emmys, and honored with a lifetime achievement award by the UK Music Video Awards (The Icon Award). Taylor Swift’s “Blank Space” became the fastest video ever to reach 1 billion views online that collected Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards. He recently won his 8th MTV VMA's Best Video of the Year for Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.”

About Julie Thomas

Born on one island and moved to another, Julie Thomas-Toda left her home of Honolulu, Hawaii in 1991, and joined AOI Pro. Inc. in Tokyo, when very few foreign women were employed in the
Japanese advertising industry. Julie’s determined passion for pushing film craft beyond the cultural and language barriers, has led AOI Pro. to become the leader in collaborating with international creative professionals and filmmakers, setting the precedent for cross-cultural advertising in Japan. Seeing beyond the initial concept in a production, Julie thrives on discovering multi-faceted creative possibilities and delivering beyond the clients’ expectations.
Her work as a creative coordinator has led her to the farthest corners of the earth, working with
some of the most distinguished professionals in the industry for such clients such as Nissan,
Honda, Toyota, Sony, Panasonic, Coca-Cola, Shiseido, Nike, Kirin, Asahi, and Nestle.
Julie delves into the advert and film craft realm daily, easily geeking out several hours at a time to uncover who’s work is excelling in the world of persuasive filmmaking. She has served on the Film Craft juries for ADFEST, Ciclope, shots Award, and YDA (Young Directors Award).
Japan has been her home for the last 27 years where she resides in Tokyo with her husband and two children.

About ADFEST

Founded in 1998, ADFEST is one of the biggest advertising festivals in Asia. This year it will be held for 4 days from March 21 to 24 in Pattaya, Thailand. In 2017, 1,342 delegates from 72 cities attended the festival.

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