Starbody

I’m certain I’ve written about this before, but it’s definitely something worth repeating. A few years back at the SIFF we saw a double feature.

First, a government-sanctioned film documenting a day in the life of the so called “average” North Korean titled North Korea - A Day In The Life. The film clearly displayed a government sanctioned life proudly as though this were all a person could hope for.

The second film, a documentary called Seoul Train. This film documented the plight of North Korean refugees who risk their lives to escape a famine stricken country through China, only to be returned by the Chinese government to face severe punishment and sometimes death.

What’s even more striking than the story itself, is the back story of one of the main activists risking his life to help people through an underground railroad. Chun Ki-won is a pastor and central figure in helping people escape. During the filming of the documentary he was captured, but had managed to dump the film for the movie in a toilet (I believe somewhere in Mongolia). While imprisoned, he had a profound impact on one of his captors who then became an activist as well and married his daughter! Months later, they had gone back, retrieved the video (now frozen inside the toilet pipes) and managed to salvage it to appear in the film. This is an excellent reason for attending SIFF every year. One of the directors spoke after the screening to share this story.

Both films were truly fascinating. The picture of North Korea seems blurry at best and is often encapsulated into the seemingly insane quirks of its leader Kim Jong-Il. And while he seems more like a cartoon character (and perfect fodder for SNL), he’s been involved in ruling that country for more than 30 years. It’s frightening.

If you have a chance, it’s worth seeing both these films.