COMRADE KIM GOES FLYING

"Cheerfully smashing perceptions of North Korea as a shuttered nation, Comrade Kim Goes Flying proves that cooperation with the West really is possible, at least in cinema." – Variety

Comrade Kim is a model of the North Korean work ethic. But despite exceeding her quotas at the coalmine she yearns to be an acrobat. When she is assigned to a Pyongyang construction site, she discovers a nearby circus that might be the answer to her dreams.

An extremely rare Western-North Korean co-production, Comrade Kim Goes Flying is an unlikely milestone. With its vibrant cinematography and screwball story about a young woman pursuing her individual dream in the face of community disapproval, it's both a vivacious romantic comedy and a testimony to its creators' determination: like their heroine, their story is one of trying to make the impossible possible, navigating unprecedented hurdles over six years to bring this sparkly vision of a seldom-seen North Korea to our screens.

"A fluffy, feel-good valentine to a little working-class girl with impossible dreams." – Screen Daily

Co-director Nicholas Bonner is a guest of the festival.

D Kim Gwang Hun, Nicholas Bonner, Anja Daelemans P Anja Daelemans, Nicholas Bonner, Ryom Mi Hwa S Sin Myong Sik, Kim Chol WS Another Dimension of an Idea L Korean w/English subtitles TD DCP/2012