­Pyongyang Film Festival screens domestic co-production with the West

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Published time: September 26, 2012 17:22
Edited time: September 26, 2012 21:22

The first movie collaboration between North Korean and Western filmmakers will have a screening at the Pyongyang International Film Festival, as the city's film series will expose international cinema to the isolated state.

Comrade Kim Goes Flying is one of two movies shot in North Korea, but edited by foreign filmmakers, in this year’s program.

The romantic comedy, about a coal miner who dreams of becoming an acrobat, took almost seven year to complete. It was shot in North Korea in 2010, then edited in Belgium.

"It's not what you expect from North Korea, and it's not something people have seen before," British co-producer Nicholas Bonner is quoted by the Huffington Post as saying.

Creating a script that would be fun and politically acceptable for screening in North Korea was a time-consuming task, taking three years.

"In the end, you're dealing with professionals… They do their job," Bonner added.

Another collaborative project screened at the festival is Meet in Pyongyang, a co-production between North Korea and a Chinese studio.

International film festivals are held in Pyongyang every two years, acting as the only chance for North Koreans to see foreign films (except for American ones) on the big screen.

This year, foreign entries on the menu include a Sherlock Holmes film, British comedy The Decoy Bride, Jet Li's kung fu film Flying Swords of Dragon Gate, French film Women on the Sixth Floor and two romantic stories from Iran.