A suspenseful look at the lengths people will go to gain freedom, Beyond Utopia follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on Earth, a land they grew up believing was a paradise. At the film’s core are a mother desperate to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind; a family of five, including small children and an elderly grandmother, embarking on a treacherous journey across the Yalu River and into the hostile mountains of China; and a man of God on a mission to help these desperate souls. Leaving is fraught with danger — severe punishment if caught, and possibly even execution, as well as potential exploitation by unscrupulous brokers — while deterrents are in place to punish their families who remain, including imprisonment or banishment to uninhabitable areas. Yet they are driven to take the risk regardless of the cost.

Gripping, visceral, and urgent, Madeleine Gavin’s film embeds the viewer with these individuals as they make their perilous escape, palpably conveying the life-or-death stakes of their trek. The result is a singular, illuminating, and unforgettable experience.

 

Awards

•WINNER: duPont-Columbia Journalism Award Silver Baton

•WINNER: Sundance Film Festival Audience Award 2023, US Documentary

•WINNER: ACADEMY AWARD SHORTLIST

•WINNER: DiscussingFilm Critic Award (DFCA) - Best Documentary Feature

•WINNER: Aspen Film Festival: Audience Award 2023

•WINNER: Woodstock Film Festival - The Leon Gast Award for Best Feature Documentary 2023 & Best Editing: Documentary

•WINNER: Sydney Film Festival: Gio Audience Award for Best International Documentary 2023

•WINNER: Millennium Docs Against Gravity Poland Film Festival All About Freedom Award

•WINNER: Durban Film Festival: Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award

•WINNER: Hamptons International Film Festival - Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for Films of Conflict and Resolution and the New York Women In Film and Television Award - Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking

•WINNER: DOC NYC - Winner’s Circle Special Selection

•NOMINATION: BAFTA AWARD, Best Documentary Feature

•NOMINATION: PGA AWARD, Best Documentary Feature

•NOMINATION: DGA AWARD, Best Documentary Feature