Awards and festivals

Film description

Comrade Kim Yong Mi is an energetic miner with a wide smile, well-liked by her co-workers and the people of her provincial hometown. Her secret passion is rhythmic gymnastics – as a child, she dreamed of being an acrobat, and now the evolutions are her favorite pastime. But when the excellent work record allows her to get a job at a construction site in Pyongyang, where auditions for a prestigious circus acrobat group are held, her heart lights up in a spark of hope.

"Comrade Kim Goes Flying" is a captivating emancipation story about the power of dreams and the determination to fight for them despite all obstacles. The film is made in a slightly sugary convention, but it is filled with irresistibly honest emotions. Despite its idealized vision of the world, the authors show the difficult, physical labor of the girl as she is trying to fulfill her dream – the pains of training, fighting her own body, the physical struggle. The acrobat playing Kim, Han Jong-sim, is not a professional actress. Her career developed similarly to her character's – from living in a small town to being a star on stage.

The film is unique for may reasons – it was made in North Korea with local actors and crew, but the post-production took place in Belgium and China. It has three directors: Anja Daelemans from Belgium, Nicholas Bonner, an Englishman who has lived in Korea for many years, and Kim Gwang-hun, a North Korean military cinema specialist. At first, Daelemans and Bonner wanted to shoot a short feature, but the story began to develop. They convinced producer Ryom Mi-hwa to engage in the project. Her connections in the film industry made the film possible, and she recruited the third director (he was indispensable, as Daelemans and Bonner were not allowed to be on set at certain locations, such as the mine). Preparations took over three years, as the script went through successive stages of approval. The film turned out to be so successful, locally and abroad, that a series about its making is currently being produced.

Jagoda Murczyńska