Beyond Utopia
ABOUT
A suspenseful look into the lived experience of fleeing North Korea. We meet a mother desperate to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind; a family of five — including small children and an elderly grandmother — embarking on a treacherous journey across the Yalu River and into the hostile mountains of China; and a man of God on a mission to help vulnerable people, at the risk of his own safety. By embarking on this journey, they risk severe punishment and possible execution - all to abandon a paradise they’ve believed in their whole lives.
Madeleine Gavin has edited award-winning narrative and documentary films that premiered at Sundance, Toronto, Berlinale, and Cannes, among others. She directed and edited the Netflix documentary City of Joy, about a revolutionary center in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Gavin teaches in the film school at Columbia University School of the Arts and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
CREDITS
SHARON CHANG
HYEONSEO LEE
HANNAH SONG
MICHAEL Y. CHOW
SUE TURLEY
VICTORIA STEVENTON
CRISTINA LJUNDBERG
MEGAN GELSTEIN
NINA & DAVID FIALKOW
RANDALL GEBHARDT
CHRISTOPHER GEBHARDT
CO-PRODUCER
JANNA DEVINSKY
DAEWON CHOI
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY
HYUN SEOK KIM
SOUND RECORDIST
DAEWON CHOI
MUSIC
ADAM TAYLOR
TAYLOR PAGE