Alkemy X signs Director Jonathan Yi
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A multi-talented filmmaker, Yi has earned wide praise for his skills as an imaginative and insightful storyteller across commercials, documentaries, television, music videos and other media.
Continuing to add unique talent to its creative roster, Alkemy X has signed award-winning director and cinematographer Jonathan Yi for exclusive representation for advertising projects.
A multi-talented filmmaker, Yi has earned wide praise for his skills as an imaginative and insightful storyteller across commercials, documentaries, television, music videos and other media. His advertising credits include work for Delta, JetBlue, FedEx, Verizon, American Express, DirecTV, HP and Intel, among many others.
Yi recently collaborated with Alkemy X on a series of spots for the Virginia Tourism Corporation and The Martin Agency. The latest addition to the agency’s iconic Virginia Is for Lovers campaign, the LoveShare spots debuted in the wake of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville and focused on families and other real people engaged in candid conversations about race, sexual identity and class. Adweek wrote that the spots transcend “typical tourism advertising with an honest look at the dynamics of the families.” Shoot Magazine named LoveShare: Jena and John as its “Spot of the Week.”
“There are many docu-style directors in the market, but Jonathan stands out with work that is uniquely powerful and diverse,” says Alkemy X Director of Production Jim Huie. “He captures raucous and poignant stories of punk rock musicians as effectively as sensitive profiles of cancer survivors.”
Yi is the director of the acclaimed documentary feature Mad Tiger, which chronicled the breakup of the flamboyant Japanese punk band Peelander-Z. Rolling Stone called it “a wild, wacky and touching story,” while Indiewire rated it a “Top Ten Documentary to Watch.” He also directed East of Main Street, which ran for five years on HBO and was the network’s highest-rated multicultural documentary series throughout its run.
Dubbed by Vice “a refreshing look at Asian-Americans in the media,” it earned two NAMIC Emma Awards, including a Gold Award for Digital Media. Nickelodeon hired Yi to direct the high-profile reunion of its hit show All That. Additionally, he has shot music videos for Paul McCartney, Twisted Sister, Poison, Daniel Johnston and Mates of State.
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In discussing his decision to join Alkemy X, Yi cited the success of their work together on Virginia Is for Lovers. “We are like-minded people who share a passion for creative storytelling,” he says. “I look forward to doing more projects that have the power to alter people’s perceptions or change their lives in some meaningful way.”
Yi studied filmmaking at NYU and began his career as a cinematographer and editor. He later joined New York agency J. Walter Thompson as a technical director. He began directing commercials and documentaries in 2008. In 2011, he directed a promo video for the launch of Canon’s EOS C300 that went viral and helped make it the most popular rental camera in the world. In addition, Yi teaches film and digital cinematography at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.
