Under the Sun (; ) is a 2015 Russian documentary film directed by Vitaly Mansky. The film follows a year in the life of a family in Pyongyang, North Korea as their daughter Zin-mi prepares to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il's birthday). North Korea permitted only Mansky, cinematographer Alexandra Ivanova, and a sound assistant to visit the country. North Korean authorities objected to the film's screening after discovering that the film crew had smuggled unapproved footage. Under the Sun received mostly positive reviews from critics.
Synopsis
The film follows a year in the life of a family in Pyongyang, North Korea as their daughter Zin-mi prepares to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il's birthday).
The film opens with the words, "The script of this film was assigned to us by the North Korean side. They also kindly provided us with an around-the-clock escort service, chose our filming locations and looked over all the footage we shot to make sure we did not make any mistakes in showing the life of a perfectly ordinary family in the best country in the world."
Production
Mansky conceived the project as a film set in a country similar to the Soviet Union. He envisioned the film to be "a time machine" to the Soviet Union under Stalin, and means to better understand his country's history. Prior to the project, Mansky stated that he had not previously visited North Korea and "only knew what most of us knew". After visiting the country, Mansky felt that North Korea was "much more hard and cruel" than the Soviet Union. Mansky observed, "From the outside, it looks like the Soviet Union in the 1930s. But if you look deeper, there is a crucial difference. In the Soviet Union, we had culture - theatres, libraries, films. And the Soviet people were critical thinkers - they complained if there was something they didn’t like. If you compare that to North Korea - they don’t have any of those cultural memories. Everyone looks content, happy with the way things are. This is what I wanted to depict in the documentary."
Russian company Vertov. Real Cinema began negotiations to secure permission to shoot a film in North Korea in 2013. The negotiations with the North Korean Ministry of Culture lasted two years. The project was finalized as a portrait of an 8-year-old school girl named Zin-mi, and her family in Pyongyang, focusing on her preparing to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il's birthday). The film makers received permission to make one research trip to North Korea, and were granted three different shooting periods of 15 days each. Per the contract, the Ministry of Culture would oversee and approve of every aspect of the filming process. They created the script, selected each of the characters, and approved of the cameras and scenes to be used in the film. Director Vitaly Mansky and his crew would only be permitted to film approved scenes at specific locations designated by the government. The film crew would also be accompanied by North Korean handlers supervising the production. Producer Simone Baumann described the process as "unbearable" for Mansky as he was used to having complete creative freedom on his projects. She stated that Mansky "couldn’t leave his hotel room without a Korean official following after him".
After arriving in North Korea, Mansky was not permitted to go anywhere by himself, and could not directly speak with any of the characters. Realizing that the North Korean government intended to make a propaganda film, Mansky decided to keep the cameras rolling between shots. The film crew captured footage of North Korean handlers staging scenes and instructing characters on how to behave and what dialogue to say. At this point, Mansky decided to change the concept of the film and use the unapproved footage to make a behind-the-scenes exposé.
The film was initially financed by Vertov.Real Cinema. Later, funding was provided by Saxonia Entertainment and MDR from Germany, and Hypermarket Films from the Czech Republic. Per the contract with the North Korean government, the North Korean Ministry of Culture received credit as a co-producer, although they did not provide any financial support for the film.