Think North Korea and most people think nuclear threat, poverty and border stand-offs. But this year's Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF), which runs from Thursday to August 11, will be challenging those preconceptions with a special focus on the films of and about the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The "Inside the DPRK" mini-showcase consists of two new films that programmers say will take viewers inside one of the world's most unfamiliar countries.
One of them, Aim High in Creation!, is described in the festival programme as "a revolutionary comedy about the cinematic genius of North Korea's late Dear Leader, Kim Jong-il". Australian director Anna Broinowski based it on the premise that a gas mine is to be built near her Sydney home, so she goes to North Korea to meet propaganda filmmaking masters. Back in Sydney, she follows their instructions to make a film within a film to fight the mine.
Broinowski received MIFF funding for her film, and its world premiere will take place at the festival. MIFF programmer Al Cossar says the North Korea showcase had grown from this premiere. "It is something that has not really been done in terms of major film festivals," he says.
"We want to give audiences experiences that cannot be replicated at home with their iTunes account, something that is kind of rare and interesting," Cossar says. "One of the defining characteristics of the Melbourne audience is that they are very adventurous and not conservative about going in the deep end when they see something that is far removed from their experience."
The second film, the romantic comedy Comrade Kim Goes Flying, was made last year by Britain's Nicholas Bonner and North Korean director Kim Gwang-hun. "It is a rare instance of a Western co-production," says Cossar.