KRIS KOUKE is a Brooklyn-based cinematographer hailing from O’ahu, Hawaiʻi where they were born and raised. Their work has screened at festivals such as the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, Outfest, Palm Springs International ShortFest, Slamdance, Sundance, SXSW, and the Toronto International Film Festival.
A Film Independent alumnus, Kouke has lensed two films that have taken home the Sundance Short Film Jury Award for U.S. Fiction: REST STOP (dir. Crystal Kayiza, 2023), which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival (‘22), Sundance (‘23), and SXSW (‘23); and -SHIP: A VISUAL POEM (dir. Terrance Daye, 2020), which premiered at Sundance (‘20), Outfest (‘20), went on to be a finalist for Vimeo’s Short of the Year, and is now streaming on the Criterion Channel.
They have also collaborated with cinematographer Jomo Fray and shot the New York segment of Bob Marley and the Wailer’s NO WOMAN, NO CRY music video (dir. Kristian Mercado Figueroa), which premiered on Vevo and was featured as a Vimeo Staff Pick.
Selected as a finalist for the 2018 ARRI Volker Bahnemann Award for Outstanding Cinematography, their work has also been featured on Vice’s i-D Magazine, as well as screened at the Smithsonian National Museum along with their photographic work as a featured contributor to the Smithsonian Institute’s Asian Pacific American Center’s A Day in the Life project.
Kouke’s film career has since taken them to China, the Cook Islands, Egypt, Japan, Singapore, and New York, where they currently reside. They earned their MFA from New York University’s Graduate Film Program where they were the recipient of the Tisch Graduate Fellowship for Cinematography.
contact
e: KRISTIN.KOUKE@GMAIL.COM
Local in HAWAIʻI / NEW YORK