Independent Film Festival Boston 2009

Director NC Heikin in attendance.

“Kimjongilia” refers to a flower named after the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Il. It is a red begonia bred to bloom in February on the occasion of the “dear leader’s” birthday. Starkly contrasting the nature of the authoritarian government he has led for the last several years (and begun by his father, Kim Il-Sung), the blossom is intended to symbolize justice, wisdom, love, and peace. Sadly, it further demonstrates the vanity of a regime that chooses to propagate flowers instead of edible crops while the general population starves.

In NC Heikin’s debut documentary, the testimonials of defectors/survivors illuminate the oppression this dictator continues to exercise on the citizens of North Korea. Artfully interspersed with archival propaganda-film footage, a gripping illustration of one of the world’s most secretive, isolated. and brutal regimes emerges. The harrowing accounts explain how even the smallest forms of dissent and criticism are systematically punished through a policy of purging three generations of any offender’s family. Some victims escaped concentration camps, and most witnessed the execution and torture of their loved ones before fleeing to China or South Korea.

Striking, original, and at times lyrical, KIMJONGILIA is not only about the devastation of authoritarianism. It becomes clear that, despite their experiences, these survivors possess an inspiring, resolute hope that they might one day return to their homeland––and that North Korea, when freed of Kim Jong-Il’s tyranny, will be able to fully bloom.

- Nancy Campbell