110 minutes / Color
English; Korean / English subtitles
Release: 2016
Copyright: 2015
After years of negotiation the Russian director Vitaly Mansky was invited by the North Korean government to make a film about one girl and her family in the year she prepares to join the Children's Union, on the 'Day of the Shining Star' (Kim Jong-Il's birthday).
"My father says that Korea is the most beautiful country..." says eight-year-old Zin-mi. And so it might seem as Mansky films her in joyous, patriotic school pageants and in dance class, or with her parents, eating delicious food in their picturesque apartment. But the government handlers supervising the production did not realize that Mansky kept filming even after they had shouted "Cut."
UNDER THE SUN is the jaw-dropping result, a "surreal and sinister… real-life version of THE TRUMAN SHOW."—The Hollywood Reporter
"Critics' Pick! Startling and chilling."—The New York Times
"Fascinating; a revealing act of subversion."—Variety
"Captures revealing details about everyday life in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital."—WNYC, The Leopard Lopate Show
"A filmmaking coup."—The Los Angeles Times
"Chilling."—RogerEbert.com
"Reveals the facades of North Korea—and what's behind them."—The A.V. Club
"What's more unexpected is just how much Russian documentary filmmaker Vitaly Mansky is able to reveal despite, and often because of, the stringent restrictions imposed upon him."—Screen Daily
"Authorities are said to have tried to prevent screenings of UNDER THE SUN...Directed by veteran filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, the documentary crew gained unprecedented access to the country by making the North Korean regime an official production partner and allowing officials complete control over the script."—The Guardian
Select Accolades
Four documentaries spanning two decades are included in this 5-disc box set, with a 16-page booklet and bonus film about the late filmmaker.
Chantal Akerman | 2016 | 419 minutes | Color | English; French; Spanish | English subtitles
Director Vitaly Mansky's portrait of the storied Soviet leader Mikail Gorbachev. Here, he presents his final testimony.
Vitaly Mansky | 2021 | 100 minutes | Color | Russian | English subtitles
Filmed over three years on what will soon be the world's largest railway network, traces the vast interiors of China on the move.
J.P. Sniadecki | 2015 | 83 minutes | Color | English; Mandarin | English subtitles
Shohei Imamura's investigation into the disappearance becomes an investigation into the nature of fiction and reality.
Shohei Imamura | 2012 | 130 minutes | Color | English; Japanese | English subtitles
The channel Russia Today was launched in 2005 to bring the Russian perspective on world events to a global audience.
Misja Pekel | 2015 | 40 minutes | Color | English | Closed Captioned
