Films from the North: My Look in the Distant Future May 14, 2008

South Korean films continue to set box-office records across Asia and win laurels in international film festivals. Meanwhile, little attention is given to the cinema from the other half of the peninsula. From May 12 to 14, 2008, three films from the DPRK’s canon will be screened as a special presentation in the Classic Movie Night series.

The films have been rarely seen outside the former Eastern Bloc. Cinema in the DPRK is an original expression of social realism and a primary vehicle for conveying state ideology. Even so, the tales—of peasant farmers struggling against feudal lords, anti-Japanese resistance fighters, and ordinary citizens loyal to their hometowns—are also told with genuine artistry.

Reeling from famine in the mid-1990s, North Korea mobilized tens of thousands of urban residents for emergency agricultural work in the countryside. My Look in the Distant Future depicts that dire period with an optimistic gloss. Sent to the countryside, a young, urban loafer finds inspiration in a stalwart village leader and decides to become a model worker.

Tickets are available for $7 (members), $12 (non-members), and $30 (for all three movies, $18 for members).

Official Website: http://www.koreasociety.org/arts/film/films_from_the_north.html