Directors' statement

In 2008, our documentary, ‘Aki Ra’s Boys’ was invited to the Pyongyang International Film Festival. There, we got a glimpse of a film industry like no other. The North Korean movie stars and directors we met spoke about serving their country and crafting messages that would glorify their leaders. They told us about their roles as creators of propaganda, and about their General, Kim Jong-Il - genius of film, theatre and music.

We were intrigued and wanted to find out more. But we were not interested in shooting on the sly. We wanted access - proper access - that would allow us to interact with our subjects openly and candidly, over an extended period of time. We wanted to meet the people behind the propaganda, understand their motivations and get to know their personal stories.

It took us more than half a year to secure this access and when permission was finally granted, we were told we had to agree to a few rules. Some were not easy to swallow and we had to think hard about them. Should we say yes and risk being accused of making a film that was less than objective, or decline and have the door close on us?

In the end, we decided to go for it. Over a year, we made four trips to Pyongyang. They were all logistically difficult to arrange. It was hard to know if a visit would be our last. Still, things got easier with time. Our subjects became less reserved, our guides, more flexible. We learnt that it was important to keep an open mind, to demonstrate that we respected our hosts and to let them show us, rather than to demand to be shown.

Some people have suggested that our subjects were merely putting on an act. Maybe they were told to be on their best behavior, but we hope that by being patient, by stepping back, and by being as unobtrusive as possible, we were able to capture moments when they were their genuine, unadulterated selves. What is the truth? What is real? All we can say is we opened a door, walked in, and observed. Did we succeed? The audience will just have to watch and decide.