The Australian film-maker who shot a North Korean propaganda film

ANNA BROINOWSKI

A Walkley Award-winning filmmaker and author, Anna Broinowski is the only Australian filmmaker that has been granted access to the North Korean propaganda film industry. Unlike some individuals that buy essays online in Australia, Broinowski is unique and very talented. One of her documentaries Forbidden Lies has been declared one of the top 100 Australian films of the new age. After her short documentary Aim High in Creation, she released Pauline Hanson: Please Explain in 2016.

WORKING ON THE SET

It is very rare for anyone to be allowed to make research in North Korea, most especially when it is about the propaganda movie industry. Anna Broinowski is amongst the rare, lucky ones that have been granted this opportunity. Although, things became a little bit different for her.

After she made her own little movie in a North-Korean style, she never knew she would very soon be working with North Korea’s greatest film directors in the production of a propaganda movie.

Anna shooting with her camera in Pyongyang

When Broinowski visited North Korea, she lived in a highly militarized area with lots of landmines. In her bid to handle the gas mine close to her home, she began the research which yielded results that made her the only Western citizen to be granted complete access to the propaganda film industry in North Korea. This was possible because there was a new leader of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kim Jong-un, whose father (the previous leader) was infatuated about filmmaking.

While in North Korea, Broinowski made several new friends and took lessons from her superiors in the propaganda industry. She played the role of an American wife in the film which was the story of the capture of a United States spy ship in 1968.

Anna Broinowski tells everyone in the story about her experience that the North Koreans are indeed nothing everyone sees them as. They showed her that they were not the overly simplistic and mind controlled individuals we all think they are.

They were interested in her work and her background, and eager to find out more about her. While interacting with the Australian film directors, Broinowski discovered the awkward sense of humour and free personalities possessed by the North Koreans.
Although she was allowed to see almost everything, Anna was banned from checking out the million-man army and going to the telecine labs.

AFTER THE PRODUCTION

In 2015, the 70th anniversary of Korea’s division was celebrated. Anna Broinowski’s short movie Aim High in Creation which allowed her access to North Korea’s industry was screened in a festival. This was a huge milestone for Anna because the South Koreans are not allowed to watch any movie created by the North Koreans.

Although the country is divided, South Koreans were able to take a peek into the lives of those on the other side of their country. They were marvelled at the documentary depicting the normal lives of the people their government wouldn’t let them see.

The trailer of Broinowski’s short film shows a few clips of what she experienced when she visited North Korea.