True North (2020 film)

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True North is a 2020 Japanese-Indonesian feature-length animated film telling the story of a family held captive in a brutal North Korean political prison camp. Based on years of research and interviews with former political prisoners who defected to South Korea, the film incorporates elements of the real-life experiences of individuals who endured some of the worst human rights abuses of our time.

The film focuses on Park Yohan, a nine-year-old boy from Pyongyang, who is wrongly imprisoned for a crime his father allegedly committed. Yohan's youthful-innocence and his belief in the innate goodness of others is gradually stripped from him as he faces the harsh realities of life and death in the camp. When the world does not treat you like a human, can you find it in yourself to treat others with human decency? We will find the answer following Yohan's journey of physical and spiritual survival spanning ten years in the camp.

This 3D animated film directed by Eiji Han Shimizu. He was born as an ethnic Korean in Japan, Eiji learned the tragic destinies of many Zainichi Koreans who moved back to North Korea. His animated film hopes to raise awareness of their plight. He collaborates with a team of talented animators in Southeast Asia from Singapore and Malaysia at SUMIMASEN.

The film was screened at the 2020 Annecy International Animation Film Festival, nominated for feature films contrechamp in competition.^[1][2]

North Korea has established a system of prison camps where individuals accused of committing crimes against the government can be jailed. According to a preliminary report from the UN, an untold number of prisoners have died amid unspeakable atrocities comparable to what the Nazi Germany did during the World War II.

TRUE NORTH is inspired by the testimonies of survivors from the camps.

According to Amnesty International, it is estimated that over 120,000 innocent people, including elders and children, are imprisoned in political prison camps in North Korea today. At this very moment, these alleged enemies of the State and the Party are enduring starvation, forced labour, torture, and public execution.

The North Korean government practices the cruel "3 generations of punishment" mandate — where in addition to the accused, the relatives a generation above and a generation below are also imprisoned. Potential North Korean dissidents and activists are forbidden to protest or even criticize and ignite a change internally for fear of jeopardizing the lives of their loved ones. And outside of North Korean, the rest of the world has been ineffective at ending this atrocity despite decades-long diplomatic, economic, and militaristic measures.

TRUE NORTH offers a fresh approach to this unyielding status-quo by shifting the public talking point from nuclear missiles to humanity. The film emotionally engages a global audience, appointing each one of us personally accountable as a protector of the unseen, voiceless, but otherwise relatable individuals hidden behind their prison walls.

Plot[]

Park Yohan, a nine-year-old boy from Pyongyang, his mother and younger sister are forcibly relocated to a notoriously cruel political prison camp in North Korea. His parents are Zainichi Koreans in the 1960s. His innocence is gradually eroded by the harsh brutality of the camp, while the rest of his family tries to maintain their decency and compassion for their fellow humans. Years later, after being devastated by the sudden and tragic loss of a loved one, he begins to reassess the meaning of his life - even as he struggles to survive in the worst imaginable living conditions.

Voice cast[]

• Joel Sutton as Park Yohan
• Michael Sasaki as Insu
• Brandin Stennis
• Emily Helles

Reception[]

• The Hollywood Reporter: “A rare glimpse inside a North Korean prison camp. This tale is for anyone interested in learning more about one of the world's most blatant crimes against humanity."
• Comic Book Resources: “TRUE NORTH will make you righteously angry, but it also manages to leave you with some sense of hope.”
• Rotten Tomatoes: “Through this young boy’s eyes we witness the worst and the best of humanity. Proving once again that the medium can do more than children’s content, the animation here helps the subject matter leave a strong emotional mark and enables the filmmaker to access an unseen reality.”

External links[]

• Official website
• True North at IMDb

References[]