North Korean movies at Bucheon film fest

SOUTH KOREA on Tuesday approved a rare screening of North Korean movies at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, which opened yesterday and will end on July 22.

The two countries technically remain in conflict after the 195053 Korean War ended without a peace treaty, and all cross-border civilian contact – including trips, letters, or emails – are banned unless endorsed by both governments.

But officials have allowed three North Korean feature films and six short movies to be screened at the annual film festival in Bucheon located in the outskirts of the country’s capital Seoul, organisers said.

The North’s films include the 2016 drama hit The Story of Our Home about three orphaned siblings trying to stay together, and Comrade Kim Goes Flying, a 2012 romantic comedy about a miner pursuing her dream to become an acrobat. Comrade Kim goes Flying is joint production between a Britain, Belgium and the North.

Directed by ( above, from left) Anja Daelemans and Nicholas Bonner, the film was earlier screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and the South’s Busan International Film Festival to positive reviews.

Organisers have also sought to invite several North Korean filmmakers, but are waiting for official approval.

Public display of the North’s culture, or bringing North Korean figures to the South requires authorisation from several state bodies, including Seoul’s unification ministry and spy agency.

Even possession of publications or other materials produced in the North can be a criminal offence under the South’s anti-communist National Security Law.

But cross-border relations have warmed after South Korean President Moon Jae-in – who has championed dialogue with the isolated North since taking office last year – held a landmark summit with the North’s leader Kim Jong Un in April.

At Seoul’s invitation, Pyongyang sent athletes and senior officials to the South’s Winter Games in February, and South Korean basketball players visited Pyongyang last week.

The impoverished North has a vibrant movie industry, though most of its productions are propaganda films extolling the ruling Kim family and its regime.

Kim’s late father and predecessor Kim Jong Il was an avid movie fan who even ordered a 1978 kidnapping of a famed South Korean actress and a film director. The pair escaped in 1986 after making several movies in the North. – AFP-Relaxnews