Beyond Utopia(HKAFF2023)

U.S. Documentary Audience Award, Sundance Film Festival
Audience Award - Best International Documentary, Sydney Film Festival
CPH:DOX

Winner of the Audience Award at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, this gripping documentary reveals a never-before-seen side of North Korea. Filmmaker Madeleine Gavin gained rare access to explore the subject of North Korean defectors, meeting key individuals including defector Soyeon Lee, and South Korean pastor Seungeun Kim, who helps people escaping from North Korea by using intricate routes through Asia. Most astonishing, the film features covertly-shot footage that embeds the audience with the five-member Roh family as they undertake a perilous journey through four hostile territories to escape North Korea. An illuminating, suspenseful and absolutely vital portrait of individuals risking everything for freedom.