Harmony Korine

Harmony Korine (born January 4, 1973) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, artist, photographer, and author recognized for his experimental cinema that emphasizes raw, unpolished depictions of fringe societal elements, often employing non-professional actors, improvised dialogue, and unconventional narrative structures.

Korine's career began with the screenplay for Kids (1995), co-written at age 19 with photographer Larry Clark directing, which provoked widespread debate for its graphic portrayal of adolescent sex, drug use, and HIV transmission risks among New York City skateboarders, reflecting unvarnished urban youth experiences amid the AIDS epidemic. He transitioned to directing with Gummo (1997), a mosaic of vignettes featuring eccentric residents of tornado-ravaged Xenia, Ohio, using real locations and locals to capture aberrant behaviors like animal cruelty and substance abuse, cementing his approach to authenticity over polished storytelling. Subsequent films such as Julien Donkey-Boy (1999), the first U.S. production under the Dogme 95 manifesto, and Mister Lonely (2007) continued this vein, blending surrealism with social observation, while Trash Humpers (2009), shot on low-fi VHS to mimic snuff footage, satirized voyeuristic depravity.

Harmony Korine was born on January 4, 1973, in Bolinas, California, to a Jewish family. His father, Sol Korine, was an Iranian Jewish immigrant who worked as a documentary filmmaker for PBS, producing content on Southern roots music and culture in the 1970s and 1980s, and had earlier pursued a career as a tap dancer associating with performers like the Nicholas Brothers. His mother, Eve Korine, taught karate and later established a pottery studio. Korine's parents identified as Trotskyites and embraced a commune-living lifestyle, reflecting countercultural influences that shaped the family's early environment.

Korine was born in 1973 to a Jewish family in Bolinas, California, as the child of Eve Korine, a homemaker, and Sol Korine, an Iranian Jewish immigrant and documentary producer for PBS who specialized in Southern roots music in the 1970s and 1980s. He has two siblings, and the family relocated frequently during his childhood, including stints in New York and St. Petersburg, Florida.