Russia’s Culture Ministry denies distribution license for film about woman who leaves North Korea
Russia’s Culture Ministry has refused to grant a distribution license for Hana Korea the film’s Russian distributor, the Russian distribution company U Films, announced.
The ministry cited a provision permitting it to deny licenses in cases specified by federal law, but offered no explanation of which grounds applied.
U Films said it was deeply sorry that Russian audiences would not have a legal opportunity to see the film, which it described as touching.
The film follows a young woman who flees North Korea for South Korea to earn money for her sick mother. It was directed by Danish filmmaker Frederik Sølberg, who co-wrote the screenplay with North Korean refugee Sharon Choi.
Sølberg said his goal was to make a universal film grounded in a particular story of forced displacement while also raising broader questions about who we are, where we belong, and how the societies we live in shape us, according to U Films.
The film had been set to premiere in Russia on April 30. It previously screened at the Busan International Film Festival, where it won the audience award.
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