Greg ELMER
Asian Premiere
In 1989, as the Soviet bloc crumbles and China fends of a democratic revolt, the head of Canada¡¯s Young Communist League leads a delegation to an international student festival in Pyongyang. The film follows Frazier and a number of other delegates as they recount their participation in the Festival and reminds us of a pre-9-11 world, a point in history where political contradictions thrived and uncertainty was embraced.
The year 1989 was a turning point in human history. Ideology seemed to be lost along with the Fall of the Wall in Berlin and the Collapse of the Soviet Union in November. That summer, the World Festival of Youth and Students in Pyongyang was crowded with students gathered for anti-war/nuclear and peace. This film is devoted to collect records and listen to the participants¡¯ recollections. One axis is the records of city Pyongyang¡¯s impression, the feeling of hospitality and North Korea¡¯s unusual enthusiasm/perfection. The other axis is detailed records of the participants¡¯ present story who are now in their middle ages. Every place of their daily lives became a proof of existence, as the history of the division and the necessity of struggle for democratization have been recognized in Pyongyang. The power of this movie is the photographs, record videos, and vivid voices beyond nostalgia, when the world was fulfilled with songs and dances, the parade of colorful flags, beaming faces of hope and peace before the geopolitical war started with the 9/11 attack. [PARK Inho]
Greg ELMER
Preempting Dissent (2014)
Soju Productions 1 416 802 2182 / elmer.greg@gmail.com