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DMZ국제다큐멘터리영화제

18th DMZ International Documentary Film Festival2026.9.10—16
사이트맵
History

8th DMZ Docs(2016)

I AM DOCU



People are the sky

Dai Sil Kim-Gibson

  • USA
  • 2014
  • 94min
  • DCP
  • color

Asian Premiere

Synopsis

일곱 살 때 고향인 황해도 신천을 떠난 이후 꼭 한번 밟고 싶었던 북한에서 영화를 만들고 싶었던 나를 격려해준 것은 남편이었다. 남편이 세상을 뜬 후 한동안 상실감에 빠졌던 나는 다시 한번 집을 찾는 심정으로 북한 방문을 준비한다. 2013년과 2014년 두 차례에 걸쳐 북한을 방문한 나는 북한 주민들과의 만남을 통해 그들의 삶을 들여다본다.

Review

The principle idea of Donghak philosophy 'People are the sky' is the main theme of this film and deals with the reality of North Korea- South Korea dynamics. For South Koreans, North Korea is a prohibited country making the North the most physically close but ideologically psychologically furthest country in the world. Director Daisil Kim-Gibson was born Shinchon, Hwanghae Province North Korea and after the war sought shelter in South Korea where she grew up. She was able to us her dual identity as a Korean-American going to the North and South shedding light to the people.
The Director looks into the Japanese occupation period, liberation, Korea war, and the experience living in the divided country through the memories, emotions of the people in the South and North. Also by obtaining the Korean study experts opinions, the director objectively approach the psychological phenomenon due to the division. When the director approaches the South Korean public she emphasizes her identity as a South Korean, and when she approaches the North Koreans she emphasizes that her birthplace was in the North. And with this skill she talks to a passerby and draws out impromptu interviews. The director throws everyday questions to the sensitive questions regarding the division.
She asks the domestic & foreign experts "Who is responsible for the division of Korea?". She asks the people of the North and South. “How do you remember the war? Do you want a unified Korea?”
Sometimes she approaches the matter as an American stand point and asks, "What is your impression of the United States?" the director reveals the cumulated hatred between the North & South due to the war damage and genocide experience. She also shows the detestation North Koreans have against the United States.
Through the footage from Christian church in Pyongyang and Pohyonsa in Mt. Myohyang, the director shows the wish for peace is universal both in the North and South. Home is not a physical place but a place where the heart is and confirms the philosophy ‘People are the sky.’
[Kwon Geum-sang]​

Director

  • Dai Sil Kim-Gibson

    Motherland (Cuba Korea USA) (2006)
    Wet Sand: Voices from LA (2004)
    Silence Broken: Korean Comfort Women (1999)
    Olivia's Story (1999)

    People Are the Sky is my eighth and most personal film. It connects two ideas: the search for home, and the nature of ordinary people, while exploring the evolution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPR K) in relation to the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the USA. There is little real information about North Korea (DPRK) available in the West, and most of it is agenda driven, often focused on three “monsters:” Kim Il Sung, Kim Jong II, and Kim Jong Un and the North's human rights violations as the “worst” in the world. Most of the extant works are based on interviews with “defectors,” food refugees, and illegal émigrés. I based my film on the people who have remained in DPRK, placed in the historical and political context of the20th and 21st centuries, using my experiences as a narrative arc. If this film achieves nothing, I would be happy if it shows viewers that there are people living in North Korea, people just like you and me with dreams and hopes for the better future.

Credit

  • ProducerDai Sil Kim-Gibson
  • Screenwriter Dai Sil Kim-Gibson
  • Cinematography Willem Lee
  • Editor Linda Hattendorf
  • Music Stephen James Taylor
  • Sound Jon Oh

Contribution / World Sales

Contribution / World Sales  Women Make Movies

Phone  212 925 0606

E-mail  daisilkimgibson@gmail.com

Website  http://www.dongibsonscholarship.wordpress.com, http://www.twotigers.org​