''The Propaganda Game'' is a 2015

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

by director

Álvaro Longoria Álvaro Longoria (born 1968 in Santander, Cantabria, Spain) is a film director, executive producer, and actor. He produces indie films for several distributors including Cinema Libre and Morena Films. He is perhaps best known for producing the f ...

. It was described by ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' as an "effectively a well-mounted video diary of his short visit to the country" and "inevitably intriguing because of its subject". The film had its world premiere at the September 2015

San Sebastián International Film Festival The San Sebastián International Film Festival ( SSIFF; es, Festival Internacional de San Sebastián, eu, Donostia Zinemaldia) is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of Donostia-San Sebastián in September, in th ...

, and was nominated for the award for Best Documentary Film at the

30th Goya Awards The 30th Goya Awards were presented at the Madrid Marriott Auditorium Hotel in Madrid on February 6, 2016 to honour the best in Spanish films of 2015. Actor and comedian Dani Rovira was the master of ceremonies for the second time in a row. Nomi ...

Production

Longoria was permitted to film high-quality footage within the country, his visit facilitated and monitored by

Alejandro Cao de Benós Alejandro Cao de Benós de Les y Pérez (born 24 December 1974) is a Spanish political activist with close relations with North Korea. He is a Special Representative of the Foreign Ministry of North Korea. He is, according to himself, also the S ...

, the

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

founder of the

Korean Friendship Association The Korean Friendship Association (KFA, es, Asociación de Amistad con Corea) is a Spain-based friendship association with North Korea. The KFA was established in November 2000. It claims to have official representatives in 34 countries. The KFA ...

who himself becomes a subject of the documentary. The film, which includes interviews as well as archival and contemporary news footage, attempts to describe the nation's social realities with particular attention to

media manipulation Media manipulation is a series of related techniques in which partisans create an image or argument that favors their particular interests. Such tactics may include the use of logical fallacies, manipulation, outright deception (disinformation) ...

by the DPRK government, while also questioning the simplifications and caricatures about North Korea made by foreign observers. Longoria shot mainly in Pyongyang, including the

Pyongyang Metro The Pyongyang Metro () is the rapid transit system in the North Korean capital Pyongyang. It consists of two lines: the Chollima Line, which runs north from Puhŭng Station on the banks of the Taedong River to Pulgŭnbyŏl Station, and the Hyŏksi ...

, the

Munsu Water Park Munsu Water Park ( ko, 문수물놀이장) is a state run water park located in the east of Pyongyang, North Korea, which opened to the public in November 2013. The park covers an area of with indoor and outdoor activities available all year r ...

, the Mansudae Grand Monument and a mass in the

Changchung Cathedral Changchung Cathedral is the nominal cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pyongyang, North Korea, located in the Changchung neighborhood of Songyo-guyok, Pyongyang. It is one of only four official Christian places of worship in Pyongyang. ...

. There are also scenes in

Panmunjom Panmunjom, also known as Panmunjeom, now located in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea or Kaesong, North Hwanghae Province, North Korea, was a village just north of the ''de facto'' border between North and South Korea, where the 1953 Korean A ...

in the

Korean Demilitarized Zone The Korean Demilitarized Zone (Korean: ; Hanbando Bimujang Jidae) is a strip of land running across the Korean Peninsula near the 38th parallel north. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) is a border barrier that divides the peninsula roughly in ha ...

. Longoria told ''Variety'' that he had deliberately avoided "the typical moving handheld secret look at North Korea", and that he undertook, in the film's striking opening sequence, "to use 'propaganda' aesthetics" and "to shoot North Korea in a way that hasn’t been shown before: as beautiful as possible", with attention to

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

residents enjoying leisurely activities in their city. "Most people say they’ve never seen North Korea like that, which is surprising as we just shot what we were shown", Longoria said. The filmmaker, who readily admits that he is not an expert in North Korea, "decided to make information manipulation the underlying plot" of his film, and through the use of restrained commentary, to let viewers themselves decide what may or may not have been staged for his visit.

Cast

The people interviewed include: *Cao de Benós' parents *Simon Cockerell of

Koryo Tours Koryo Tours is an independent Western travel company based in Beijing, specializing in group and independent tourism to North Korea. Their tours run throughout the year covering budget to exclusive trips. There are packages for staying in the cap ...

* * Rajiv Narayam, Amnesty International researcher *

, North Korean colonel *

Andrei Lankov Andrei Nikolaevich Lankov (russian: Андрей Николаевич Ланьков; born 26 July 1963) is a Russian scholar of Asia and a specialist in Korean studies and Director of Korea Risk Group, the parent company of NK News and NK Pro ...

, Russian expert on North Korea * Ahn Myeong Chul, North Korean defector * Xiaohe Cheng, professor of international studies. * *Esteban Beltrán, Spanish section of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

* Georgina Higueras, Spanish journalist *

Jaime Florcruz Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...

, CNN *

Shin Dong-Hyuk Shin Dong-hyuk (born Shin In Geun, 19 November 1982 or 1980) is a North Korean-born human rights activist. He is reputed to be the only known prisoner to have successfully escaped from a "total-control zone" grade internment camp in North Kore ...

, North Korean defector

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Propaganda Game, The 2015 documentary films Documentary films about North Korea 2015 films 2010s English-language films

Production

Cast

See also

References

External links