Dear Pyongyang
Yong-Hi Yang, 2005, 107 min
Japanese with English subtitles

One of a trio of films made by director Yang Yong-Hi about her Korean-Japanese family, the tender Dear Pyongyang sees her try to learn more about her father. She examines his lifelong loyalty to the North Korean state, so devout that he sent his three sons from Japan to permanently live in the country while they were still teenagers. Following Yang on a revealing visit to Pyongyang to reunite with her brothers (footage which resulted in Yang being banned from re-entering), Dear Pyongyang – a winner at Sundance and Berlin – sensitively examines this family rupture, while also examining questions of allegiance, belonging and identity.

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Screening as part of our Cinema of the Self: Personal Documentary in Japan programme and Japan 2020: Over 100 years of Japanese Cinema, a UK-wide film season supported by National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. bfijapan.co.uk