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John Choi

John Choi

Director and cinematographer

John Seongho Choi (최성호) is a Canadian-South Korean filmmaker based in Toronto, Ontario. In 1992, right after graduating in Fine Arts at York University, he moved straight to New York City where he worked as a stills photographer assistant. He soon shifted gears towards the motion picture film industry, and he worked at the ARRI Motion Picture Company NYC equipment rental house. He later pursued a film crew freelance career as a camera assistant/focus puller and joined I.A.T.S.E. Local 644 East Coast Camera Union in 1996. As the union merged into Local 600 The International Cinematographers Guild, he was hired on films productions in New York City and abroad including Godzilla, In Dreams, 54, The Bone Collector, 28 Days, Hurricane, The Out Of Towners, and O Brother Where Art Thou? He moved back to Toronto in 2005 and collaborated on numerous music videos for bands. He segued into directing television and factual true crime series. In 2006, he founded his own production company, Playground Films. In 2015, he released his first feature documentary film, Lost & Found. He also directed the feature documentary film Spaceman in 2019.

Read more

Biography from TMDB.

Works as
Director and cinematographer
Titles
9 on Motif · 16 credits in all
Links
IMDb (opens in a new tab)TMDB (opens in a new tab)Official site (opens in a new tab)

Known for

TMDB popularity, last 65 days to Oct 28Up 29% in 30 days

What are John Choi's films like?

Across their 5 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Survival.

Themes

share of theme weight
Morality
28%
Survival
25%
Society
21%
Self
16%
Bonds
5%
Ideas
5%
Justice3 titles, browse their movies with this themeAmbition2 titles, browse their movies with this themeCommunity2 titles, browse their movies with this themeViolence2 titles, browse their movies with this theme

Moods and endings

endings are an aggregate; no title is named

Dominant moods · mentions across their titles

Tense
2
Joyful
2
Dread
2
Cold
2
Contemplative
2
Other
4

How their films linger

Unsettling2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteThought-provoking2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteFun2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertasteInfuriating2 titles, browse their movies with this aftertaste

How their films end

  • Bittersweet1
  • Ambiguous4

AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.

Where can I watch John Choi's films?

As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 9 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Hulu (3).

Also on these channels

Subscription and free streaming for John Choi's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.

Filmography

16 credits, 9 with a Motif page.

  • Mind Check 1-2, 1-2 (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)

    Producer

  • Sisterhood Softball (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2023)

    Producer

  • Dark Side of Comedy(2022)

    Show 10 episodes · Director

    Motif score: 67th percentile of all shows

  • The Raincoat Killer: Chasing a Predator in Korea(2021)

    Show 3 episodes · Director

    Motif score: 22nd percentile of all shows

  • Squid Game(2021)

    Show 3 episodes · as Player 226

    Motif score: 84th percentile of all shows

  • K-Pop Evolution(2021)

    Show 7 episodes · Director

    Motif score: 44th percentile of all shows (provisional, few ratings)

  • Spaceman (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2019)

    Director

  • Disasters at Sea(2018)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Cinematographer

    Motif score: 91st percentile of all shows

  • Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit(2018)

    Cinematographer

    Motif score: 54th percentile of all films

  • The Eleven(2017)

    Show 6 episodes · Director · Cinematographer

    Motif score: 37th percentile of all shows

  • Lost & Found (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)

    Director · Writer

  • Murder in Paradise(2013)

    Show Director

    Motif score: 57th percentile of all shows

  • Public Domain (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2003)

    Cinematographer

  • Footlong (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)

    Cinematographer

  • Trouble on the Corner(1997)

    Second Assistant Camera

    Motif score: 7th percentile of all films

  • Destination Anywhere (not in the Motif catalog yet)(1997)

    Camera Loader

Career shape

A full career of 15 titles from 1997 to 2023.

Highest rated

Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit (2018)

Motif 54th

Most popular right now

K-Pop Evolution (2021)

By role

only this rolewith another role
Acting1 of 15: 1 only acting, 0 with another roleDirecting7 of 15: 5 only directing, 2 with another role · typical Motif score44thWriting1 of 15: 0 only writing, 1 with another roleProducing2 of 15: 2 only producing, 0 with another roleCinematography4 of 15: 3 only cinematography, 1 with another roleOther crew2 of 15: 2 only other crew, 0 with another role

By decade

1990s2 · crew2000s2 · crew2010s5 · crew2020s6 · 1 acting · 5 crew

Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Motif score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on Motif, shown from 5 scored.

Who does John Choi work with?

People who share at least 2 of John Choi's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Nicolina Lanni shares the most, 3.

Directors

Writers

Editors

Producers