Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, film
Check out my Q&A on StoryLink by blogger Debra Eckerling.
It coincides with my nomination for “Best Screenplay” at the Edgemar Short Film Festival in Santa Monica.
http://www.storylink.com/blogentry/83817
North Korea film and documentary viewing
Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, film
I’ll be guest speaking and presenting some of my North Korea reports at a “showing” and panel discussion in Pasadena.
Two award-winning films, De-Faced and Kim Jongilia the Movie will be screened there. I’ve seen parts of those movies and they look amazing.
Come out and support if you can!
http://www.brehmcenter.com/event/2009-11-19–north-korea-in-cinema–deface-and-kimjongilia/
Showin’ his poker face…
Here’s a story I just did on professional poker player Yan Chen, one of the top low ball players in the world.
As you’ll see, money comes and goes.
I filmed, edited and wrote the story for a new website called VJmovment.com, which has journalists from around the world contributing.
It’s an interesting and diverse site that’s based out of all places — Amsterdam!
Truth way stranger than fiction
So the truth finally comes out. This is account is certainly more credible than the North Korean propaganda of stating that Laura and Euna were giddily excited that they had ventured into forbidden territory. But though it’s credible, a lot of questions remain over whether the journalists were actually set up.
Juche Rules Trailer
Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, Uncategorized, film
Check out the trailer for our new short film, JUCHE RULES …
Tales from one of the few westerners to land in N. Korea
Filed under: Journalists, Juche Rules Film, North Korea, Uncategorized, film
Fascinating article from the L.A. times on Charles Jenkins, the army deserter who spent four decades stuck in North Korea.
My favorite lines from the article are: His time in North Korea was part comedy, part horror. He says he and three other American deserters mocked their political minders, whom they nicknamed Whitey, the Fat Cadre and the Colonel in Glasses.
That’s the essence of my short film, Juche Rules, which will be finished shortly… stay tuned….
NKorea sentences Laura and Euna to 12 years jail
Nkorea sentences 2 US Journalists to 12 years jail
It is difficult to know exactly what this really means and what kind of negotiations are going on behind the scenes.
But sadly, it does appear that Nkorea is choosing to use the women as pawns for future negotiations.
Can not even begin to imagine what they are going through…
Prayers for Laura Ling and Euna Lee
I had the opportunity to be a part of last night’s vigil for captured journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee. Lisa Ling, Laura’s sister and a former host on The View, gave an impassioned and polite message toward North Korea, apologizing for any possible transgressions and asking for her sister’s release. It was understandable and heartfelt. Her key message was a hope that Laura and Euna would not be caught up in the political brinkmanship between the two countries, which currently have no relations. Lisa was very impressive… sincere, concise and composed despite a situation no one can really understand. Can you imagine your sibling being detained for three months in a country no one knows hardly anything about, and one where there is almost no access to what’s going on there? The only one who has seen the women is a Swedish diplomat.
I had the fortune of speaking with Michael Saldate., the husband of Euna Lee. Michael was optimistic… about as optimistic as possible in a situation where fear can easily consume you completely. He remained good natured and polite while I shared with him some of my impressions from my visits to the hermit kingdom. In the end, he was just anxious… feeling that North Korea had made their point already… and that now it was simply time for the women to come home. Michael’s got a gorgeous four year-old daughter named Hannah, perhaps the most heart breaking image to see… a confused little girl that has no idea where her mother has gone.
Everyone believes the journalists will be convicted of some sort of crime. If history shows anything, the women would then be released shortly after. But the problem is North Korea is a loose canon… they don’t play by any rule book. Kim Jong-Il’s health is failing and he continues to demand attention the best way he knows how, firing missiles across international borders. What is this man thinking with his mortality clearly at hand? Does he really still believe that he is some sort of God, born as lightning struck in the mountains, as the legend, or fact as they call it in North Korea, goes.
Hundreds of people from all walks of life, and some beautiful movies stars like Kelly Hu and Tia Carrere, came out to show their support at the vigil. Let’s hope there’s a far bigger bash in store for the future… when the women return to American soil, safe and sound. If that happens, we will know that all the emotional calls and pleas for their release did not fall on deaf ears, proving that the man they call DEAR LEADER and revere as a God, actually has human traits, and is someone that can be reasoned with and negotiated with in at least some capacity, like a ratoinale being.
North Korea sadly making the headlines…
As we just wrapped up filming my screenplay, Juche Rules, about a journalist who obtains secret footage in North Korea, I find myself eerily looking at the news headlines, where American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now on trial in North Korea. It is a case filled with so many questions– Did they actually cross the Sino-Korean border? Are they being treated well? Are they being used as political pawns? Does anyone have any idea how the North Korean court system works? Having traveled to North Korea twice, all I can say that is if someone claims to understand the North Korean mind, then they probably have no idea what goes on in the North Korean mind. Most of the people are essentially brainwashed drones. I recall looking out from my tour bus, and into the fields, where I could see such mindless, ordinary people, marching out to plant a flag. I recall watching South Korean tourists yell into the mountains to hear their voices echo through the beautiful Mount Kumgang. At the same, time, North Korean guides, just watched with completely blank expressions, wondering what could be so interesting about hearing your own voice echo. Unfortunately, their own voices are completely lost in the desolate country. But I’m curious to know, how many people do have independent thought there, and how many of them are able to break through the brainwashing. I am sure the vast majority do not. However, I interviewed several defectors many years ago, and f0r most of them, there was a particular moment. Perhaps they got a small glimpse of the outside world, and something penetrated their mind, allowing them to feel conscious for the first time in their life. For most of them, there was almost always a moment of truth where they had to decide to make a break for freedom, which also meant leaving their families behind forever. That is courage, and at the same time, some might think selfishness. For what happens to their families can be shame or even many years in a labor camp. No one has the answers to the right or wrong of that decision … no one.