This is a film supposedly about the perfect life in an ideal country – North Korea. An eight-year-old girl is studying in an ideal school, living with her ideal parents who work at ideal factories, living in a dream-like apartment in the centre of the capital. The girl is being prepared to enter the Korean Children’s Union for the celebrations of the ‘Day of The Shining Star’ (Kim Jong-Il’s birthday). This is the narrative that North Korea wants the world to see, but in defiance of the regime’s constant pressure and production oversight, Russian director Vitaly Mansky continues to roll camera long after the government handlers call ‘cut’. The film, with revelatory humour, manages to capture real moments of life behind the watchful eye.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and present. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
