Beyond Utopia is a gripping documentary that follows the journey of several families as they try to escape the oppressive regime of North Korea. It provides a rare and eye-opening glimpse into a world that is unknown to most of us.
Playing Frisbee in North Korea is the first documentary produced and directed by an African-American female filmmaker from inside North Korea. The idea began at a conference on Korean Re-unification organized by General Colin L. Powell and the Colin Powell Center, where director Savanna Washington was a Graduate Fellow. Through verité footage from inside North Korea, interviews with North Korean refugees, long time aid workers, scholars, and experts on the topic, this documentary provides an authentic, on the ground perspective of the lives, struggles, and humanity of the people of North Korea.
This documentary records Hoaas' personal encounter with the closed society of North Korea. As with her earlier work, Hoaas approaches her film as a cumulation of fragments encompassing different perspectives that together offer a point of entry into a complex society. Her diary-style narration signals her limited personal perspective into this culture, especially given the brief filming period and her difficulty in breaking through the facade of the showcase version of Korea insisted upon by her official guides. Hoaas' restricted visual access, and her reluctance to present over-familiar images of the hardship and depravation informed her decision to use this narrative device to frame her film within the context of the famine crisis that began in 1997 following the failure of crops caused by two consecutive years of heavy flooding.
No More results found.