It could simultaneously be a feature-length profile of one man, an investigation of how North Korea treated four prized defectors, and a snapshot of a feud between two men who have been through too much but tell us too little. James Dresnok: The Foreign Studies Institute. This is his story.VeryMuchSo Production and Koryo Tours in conjuction with Passion Pictures, BBC4 and ARTE. Suite #615 Crossing the line is a 1-hour video that charts the paths of two Tasmanian medical students, Amy and Paul, during an 8-week placement on Mornington Island in north-west Queensland. It showed Dresnok in present-day in Pyongyang (where he lived to his death), interacting with his North Korean family and friends. Dresnok spoke exclusively to the filmmakers about his childhood, his desertion, his life in a country completely foreign and quite hostile to his own, his fellow defectors, and his wife and children.[1]. Since 1993, No. Read all Director Kaye Harrison Writer Kaye Harrison Stars He worked for the Korean Peoples Army as an English teacher, learned the language and the system. contact@pulitzercenter.org, Humanizing the Hermit Kingdom: Leisure in North Korea, Stories by Campus Consortium Reporting Fellows, Deep Dives: Ocean and Fisheries Reporting, Underreported Stories in Sub-Saharan Africa, Science Misinformation: Journalism in the Age of Truth Decay, Bringing Stories Home: Local Reporting Grants, COVID-19, Vaccines, and Global Health Inequities, OPPORTUNITIES FOR CAMPUS CONSORTIUM MEMBERS, In North Korea, an International Film Festival Where Self-Reliance Is the Star, Pizzas, Pony Rides and Dolphin Shows: Balms for North Koreas Elite. [2][3][4], The movie had mostly positive reception. Your Email (required) A tale of struggle and success, the beauty of sport crossing cultural barriers. John Battsek, Richard Klein & Paul Yi, Formerly known as Pyongyang Art Studio, Koryo Studio is the first Western art gallery to commission and sell work by artists of the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea. Playing in a water park. ***This series and episode is under license from TVF. It also portrays the unpredictable responses when mainstream health professionals 'cross the line' and enter Aboriginal communities for the first time. For nearly 40 years their life was. Crossing the Line: Directed by Daniel Gordon. The video examines whether this advice is realistic and how adequately prepared they are for this culturally shocking experience. He uses Korean as his daily language. Like most Australians, they have never been exposed to life in a remote Indigenous community. Where does the responsibility for the drug abuse and psychological trauma among undercover agents lie? Orphaned at 14, Olympic hurdler at 18, crack cocaine addict at 22, world number one at 25, and finished at 30, this documentary explores the fine line between greatness and addiction. In conclusion. Crossing the line is a slight (sometimes great) shock to the audience, so only use it when this is your aim. Dresnok remains in North Korea and lives with his family in the capital city, Pyongyang, and has not had contact with outsiders since his defection in 1962. Like most Australians, they have never been exposed to life in a remote indigenous community. Video available from Ronin Films, phone (02) 62480851or Like most Australians, they have never been exposed to life in a remote Indigenous community. At one time, there were four Americans living in North Korea. Amy McCormack (medical student) and Louise Roughsey, Silhouette of youth on street (photo: Paul Joffe), Hector Thomas and Paul Joffe (medical student). Third party web links are provided for your convenience only. [Dresnok and a friend converse while fishing]. He is a key part of the story but as much of it is now in the public domain, it is Dresnok who is the driving force of the film. Like most Australians, they have never been exposed to li Read all'Crossing the Line' follows the journeys of two young medical students, Amy and Paul, who leave their safe middle class homes and university behind to be thrust into the harsh reality of everyday life on Mornington Island. Throughout their 8-week placement in this remote Indigenous community, Amy and Paul move beyond their professional roles to make personal connections with some of the locals. It would address reculturation and the rejuvenation of Aboriginal identities. In the 1960s, at the height of the Cold War, four US soldiers defected to North Korea. Project-specific support provided by Screen Australia's development programs since the agency's inception in July 2008. Captured by the North Koreans, Dresnok became the first of several American GI's to "defect" to the communist North and went on to be enormous propaganda tools to the regime of the time. Crossing the Line, which was narrated by actor Christian Slater, was nominated for the Grand Jury . [5][6][7][8], Robert Willoughby The Bradt Travel Guide: North Korea 2008, page 39 "In a further twist, they found film fame with roles in DPRK films vilifying the US, with Dresnok typecast as an evil American and making firm friends with several North Korean film stars who appear in Crossing the Line and discussed the ", Justin Corfield, Historical Dictionary of Pyongyang 2013, page 43 "After Doina died of lung cancer, Dresnok married the daughter of a Togolese diplomat and a North Korean woman, and had a son. Crossing The Line is the tragic yet uplifting story of athletics prodigy Danny Harris, and his battles with his demons on and off the track. In 1962, the 20 year old PFC James Dresnok was serving in the demilitarised zone between North Korea and South Korea when he just headed across in the northern side of the border. Consequently, filmmakers wishing to engage with it would have to be more sophisticated in their approach too. The plot is laid out in roughly fifteen-minute chunks: easy divisions to insert breaks for advertisements, I suspect. With Damion Cruzz, Bruce Cumings, James Joseph Dresnok, Charles Robert Jenkins. The folk of Mornington Island demonstrate a warm-hearted resilience in the face of their history, but to Amy it is appalling. A British documentary about US Army defector James Dresnok currently living in North Korea after having defected during the 60s. Screen Australia is not responsible for and does not endorse any Third Party Sites' use, effect or content or any associated organisation, product or service on the third party site. Kaye Harrison wrote, directed and co-produced the video for ABC-TV, which screened it earlier this year in two parts on the Indigenous program Message stick. Moreover the movie launched, because it is a success. Amy attends a church service at a time when many funerals are being held for young men. CROSSING THE LINE is a significant film in my career as a producer. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); If you would rather just drop us an email please send to Simon@koryogroup.com, If ordering please let us know the SET or PORTRAIT number and size you require, thank you. Awakening the minds and sensitivities of future doctors to the needs and wishes of Aboriginal people makes sense if there is to be participation of each in the others future. Classification: Exempt - Ronin Recommends: G, Proceed with ordering this titleand for pricing information . 27 Bei San Li Tun Nan Bridging the Gap in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander life expectancy remains a key issue across Australia. It reminds us that there are still many stories to be told about North Korea, and that any life inside this Hermit Kingdom is not as self-contained as we might assume. "IT MAKE FOR REMARKABLE, RIVETING VIEWING AND GIVES A RARE AND UNSENTIMENTAL INSIGHT INTO ONE OF AUSTRALIA'S REMOTE INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES. subject to the Medical Journal of Australia's editorial discretion. None of the men had any idea what awaited them on the other side. It was first screened in 2007 on the BBC. No-one knew why they did it. info@koryostudio.com. One supervisor cautions Paul against building up an expectation that youre going to make a change. Dan Gordon (Director/Producer) Nicholas Bonner (Co-Producer). Think all things true crimefrom an insider's perspective. It's very gratifying to know that the film encourages discussion and debate about such complex issues, makes me feel like I've done my job! Fisherman: Where does the twenty-two year old go? After several weeks, Paul encounters a young girl who is brandishing a rope, threatening suicide. This was justified not just because these peeks could be accommodated in the plot, but also because outside audiences had genuinely never seen life depicted that way in, arguably, the world's most isolated country. Request an update here. Crossing the Line is the final installment in director Daniel Gordon's trilogy of films shot inside North Korea. CROSSING THE LINE is the third feature length documentary by VeryMuchSo Productions, the team that produced the RTS award-winning the game of their lives (four awards in total plus two Grierson nominations, one British Independent Film Awards nomination) and the acclaimed a state of mind (broadcast UK June 7th 2004 and chosen as Pick of the Day in every broadsheet) the story of two North Korean gymnasts as they prepare a Mass Games celebration. Like most Australians, they have never been exposed to life in a remote Indigenous community. CROSSING THE LINE follows the journeys of two young medical students, Amy and Paul, who leave their safe middle class homes and university behind to be thrust into the harsh reality of everyday life on Mornington Island. Crossing the Line lacks the clean through-line that A State of Mind was born with, but its sprawl is part of its appeal. For our First Nations communities, January 26th marks the beginning of a long and painful process of colonisation, genocide, and erasure of Indigenous peoples, languages, and culture. 'Crossing the Line' follows the journeys of two young medical students, Amy and Paul, who leave their safe middle class homes and university behind to be thrust into the harsh reality of everyday life on Mornington Island. Email me when people comment on this article, Online responses are no longer available. If you would rather just drop us an email please send to Simon@koryogroup.com If medical students are to go in at the deep end at the Top End, there needs to be strong support from a partnership of medical educators and the communities involved. In other words. The spent cartridges of bright ideas litter the ground. WINNER! He then simply disappeared from the face of the known world. Certainly it must be born of Aboriginal culture. They despaired at the offensive lack of attention given to the communitys wishes and at what they perceived to be an element of voyeurism in the placements themselves. Read more Directors Kaye Harrison, Rod Freedman Supplier Ronin Films Of the three soldiers who followed our protagonist, only oneCharles Jenkinsis still alive, and he defected in between interviews with Dresnok. (Robert Boynton wrote about this horrific scheme for the New Yorker.). Films. My motivation for making the documentary CROSSING THE LINE was a desire to make the issues surrounding Indigenous health accessible to a broad mainstream audience. In making the film, the filmmakers had astonishing access to Dresnok, his daily life in North Korea, his and the other defector families, and even the North Korean soldier who captured him in 1962.Thesesights have never been seen before to anyone outside North Korea, and even to most North Koreans. 'Crossing' Reveals Untold N. Korea Story, Last US defector in North Korea, BBC, 23 January 2007, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Crossing_the_Line_(2006_film)&oldid=1127485026, This page was last edited on 15 December 2022, at 00:20. Firstly. Each episode allows the listener to experience the numerous barriers faced and the ways people . For nearly 40 years their life was hidden from the outside world.Not even the US government knew their fate. Their answers and the stories they tell will shock, surprise and inspire. Subscribe to get more Dark Crime content and hit the notification bell to see the freshly uploaded content. The film is about a former U.S. Army soldier, James J. Dresnok, who defected to North Korea on 15 August 1962. Your Name (required) Without seeming to consult the community, Paul and Amys supervisors in Mt Isa pull them out for debriefing a week early almost before they can say goodbye to the people they have come to know and begun to love because they have become too involved. Teaching English at Pyongyang University of Foreign Studies, he was the subject of the film Crossing the Line ", Last edited on 15 December 2022, at 00:20. accepted. It's rewarding to know that the film continues to be used widely amongst Indigenous and mainstream organisations to explore the complexities of grappling with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health issues and Aboriginal people's responses to outsiders. He has now lived in North Korea twice as long as he has in America. document.getElementById( "ak_js" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Anna Broinowski, goes to North Korea to meet the masters of propaganda filmmaking. A British documentary about US Army defector James Dresnok currently living in North Korea after having defected during the 60s. Crossing the Line (Korean: , A Blue-Eyed Pyongyang Citizen in North Korea) is a 2006 British documentary film by Daniel Gordon and Nicholas Bonner. Over the course of its ninety-minute runtime, Crossing the Line delves into the psyches of prisoners of war, the act of defection, and the process of assimilating into a society that prides itself on its homogeneity. They cannot avoid the experiences of the people served by the hospital. In an ideal world where there is no Indigenous disadvantage with respect to access to health care, life expectancy, my documentary would no longer be regarded as relevant. Like most Australians, they have never been exposed to li 'Crossing the Line' follows the journeys of two young medical students, Amy and Paul, who leave their safe middle class homes and university behind to be thrust into the harsh reality of everyday life on Mornington Island. Crossing the Line, which was narrated by actor Christian Slater, was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the festival. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. The eccentricities associated with its leaders, the Kim dynasty, and the hardline communism they've forced upon the country also make audience immersion a fait accompli. If not this is just to pass the time. However, these complaints are only worth raising because there is enough in the film that's riveting and memorable to make up for them.
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