By letting camera roll, film gives rare view of North Korea

By letting camera roll, film gives rare view of North Korea

Yet even in these impossible circumstances, Mansky managed to make a film that gives a haunting and rare look into North Korean life and the stranglehold the country's totalitarian regime has on its people.

Once it became clear how restricted he and his crew would be, Mansky resolved to let the camera run before and after a scene, capturing the government handlers' manipulation of daily life: propaganda in action.

"On the second or third day when we were sure that we didn't have the slightest chance to get through to the real life, we decided the only chance we had to film was to film the 'take' in full," said Mansky, speaking in Russian through a translator.

Mansky, who grew up in Soviet Union-controlled Ukraine and has made films about living under totalitarian and communist regimes his life's work, expected to find signs of quiet rebellion but witnessed only complete indoctrination.

Since censors checked their film daily, the filmmakers smuggled footage by making duplicate memory cards.

The Museum of Modern Art scheduled it as part of its 2016 Doc Fortnight festival in February but pulled it partly over concerns that a screening it might provoke North Korea the way the 2014 comedy "The Interview" did.

"When the film started getting notices at film festivals, they were very critical and they demanded the Russian side destroy the film," says Mansky.