Emerging Filmmaker Hungyu Kuo Pushes the Boundaries of Contemporary Cinema
Hungyu Kuo directing an actor on the set of his debut feature, Angels Near Death.
A filmmaker whose genre-defying shorts and features explore trauma, identity, and cultural memory with surreal dark humor.
Kuo’s short films explore topics rarely addressed in mainstream cinema. Turn (2023) examines domestic violence, broken families, and the emotional impact of abortion through symbolic, dreamlike storytelling. Resurrection (2023) portrays the aftermath of sexual assault using horror-fantasy elements, while Stay Positive (2022) captures feelings of loneliness and moral uncertainty during the COVID-19 pandemic. Banana Kills (2019) transforms compulsive addiction into a darkly humorous horror metaphor for shame and isolation, and Study Hard (2018) focuses on the intense academic pressure faced by many Asian children. Throughout these films, Kuo employs genre to reveal human vulnerability rather than conceal it.
His feature work continues to explore these themes. Angels Near Death, which had its world premiere at the American Film Market 2025, is a dark comedy about people who lose themselves emotionally and psychologically as they search for meaning in Hollywood. It examines fractured identities, artistic obsession, and the chaos beneath the city’s surface. His Super eight film, Extraordinary Achievement (currently in post-production), takes its title from the O-1 concept of “extraordinary ability,” exploring society’s obsession with proving personal worth and suggesting that simply waking up and facing life can be a profound achievement in itself. Kuo is also developing The Indian, a psychological horror-thriller inspired by the interconnected histories of English colonization in India and Native American communities. The project explores cultural memory, inherited trauma, and the lasting scars of empire.
Throughout his work, Kuo aims to confront brutal truths with emotional clarity, using genre not as a form of escapism but to highlight the realities people carry within themselves. “Even when I use surrealism or horror, everything begins with something real,” he says. “If a film can face something painful with honesty, it becomes art. And art heals.”
With an increasing number of socially impactful films and a distinct artistic voice, Hungyu Kuo is emerging as a filmmaker redefining the boundaries of modern independent cinema.
Hungyu Kuo
Angels Near Death LLC
+1 747-203-6223
angelsneardeath@gmail.com
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Angels Near Death Official Trailer #01
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