Tag Archives: documentary

11 May, 2014

WATCH THE DEFECTOR ON ITUNES!

The Defector: Escape from North Korea is now available on iTunes in the US and other territories now. This suspenseful documentary follows a human smuggler leading defectors escaping from North Korea  It just won Best Documentary and Best Documentary Director at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards (Canada’s Academy awards). And is available for viewing here:
The film is also available for theatrical and educational screenings, Tugg will organize it with you. For those of you who are looking to organize a screening, but have no budget, there is an option for you too! Gather enough ticket pre-sales and the film will come to your local cinema – check out the Tugg website for the hosting details:

5 March, 2014

The Defector Wins 3 Canadian Screen Awards!

We are pleased to announce The Defector: Escape from North Korea won three Canadian Screen Awards at last night’s Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television ceremony: Best Documentary Program, Best Direction in a Documentary Program and the Academy’s Diversity Award.

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A great team win! It’s a testament to the incredible talent that came together to make this film. Heartfelt congratulations to:

Director of Photography – STEPHEN CHUNG
Supervising Editor and Co-Writer – MANFRED BECKER
Editor – CHRIS WISEMAN and STEVE GUISE
Art Director – ALEXANDRA G. BRILLEMBOURG
Animation Director ROBERT PILICHOWSKI
Visual Research – ELIZABETH KLINCK
Music Composed and Performed by – ARI POSNER
Commissioning Editor, TVO – JANE JANKOVIC
Line Producer – HEIDI TAO YANG
Associate Producers – SHERRY BARRETT-BOGUSKI
ERICA LEENDERTSE
HEIDI TAO YANG
MELANIE HORKAN
HANNAH DONEGAN
CG Graphics – SCOTT MCPHERSON
Motion Graphics
ALEXANDRA G. BRILLEMBOURG
ROBERT PILICHOWSKI
STEPHANIE DUDLEY
SHUMING JIANG
TOM TRINDADE
MUNZER HALIME
ABHYUDAY KARN
ARTURO MERINO
Second Unit Cinematographer ALAN POON
Additional Camera ROBERT PILICHOWSKI, JOHN TRAN
Camera Assistant SCOTT BURTON
Los Angeles Sound Recordist NATHAN BARGER
Los Angeles Production Assistant JUSTIN FERK
Toronto Sound Recordists SEAN VAN DELFT
JEFFREY MAGAT
Korea Sound Recordist NA-RU KANG
Thailand Sound Recordist PONGSARID TOMECHAI
Fixer (South Korea) MI-HYE KIM, CHARLIE MAENG
Fixer (Thailand) FRANK SMITH, MAE THEEWARI
Daily Assistant Editor JARED RAAB
Editorial Assistant DAINE BOHNER
Additional Stock Treatment KYOUNGKUEN CHUNG
Translators and Editorial Assistants
EUI YONG ZONG
SEAN KANG
MI-RE KIM
Interns MAX COTTER
ARIAL YANG
Post Production by REDLAB
Audio Post Production by POST CITY SOUND INC.
Dialogue Editor and Sound Design ALEX BULLOCK
Music Supervisor STEPHANIE PIGOTT
Music Mixed by JARED KUEMPER
Music Assistant and Additional Music PATRICK COTTER

Thank you TVO, CMF, Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund, Robin Balick Mirsky, Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Documentary Organization of Canada, Canal D, CTS!

28 January, 2014

The Defector has WON the 2014 Diversity Award!

The Defector is the proud winner of the 2014 Diversity Award from the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. The Defector is not an easy story to tell, and required a diverse and resourceful team to pull it off. We are very happy to be recognized for our unique team’s talents as a prime example of the Canadian film and television industry.
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Along with winning the Diversity Award, The Defector is nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards - Best Documentary Program and Best Direction in a Documentary Program. The Canadian Screen Awards takes place in March, we hope you keep your fingers crossed!

23 January, 2014

JOL Interview With Ann Shin: North Korea is More Dangerous to Flee Than Ever

A new interview with The Defector director, Ann Shin, in JOL Press discusses the ways in which the the changing North Korean political environment is making it more difficult for defectors to escape the country.
“Since coming to power, Kim Jong-Un has strengthened control measures and security posts on the border between North Korea and China, to put an end to attempts to escape North Korean citizens . It also increased the penalties against border guards may receive bribes defectors.”
 
Read the full article here

13 January, 2014

THE DEFECTOR NOMINATED FOR TWO CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS

The Defector: Escape from North Korea has been nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards in the Television category – “Best Documentary Program” and “Best Direction in a Documentary Program.” The nominations follow The Defector: Interactive’s recent Digi Award win.

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As media attention is drawn towards the high profile celebrities currently venturing to North Korea, The Defector gets an inside perspective on those risking their lives to flee from the starvation and oppression of North Korea.

Watch The Defector Trailer at www.thedefectormovie.com

1 January, 2014

The Defector Listed As One Of Canada’s Top Films Of 2013

The Defector has been listed as one of the top Canadian films of 2013 by Huffington Post and MovieFone:
“Director and centrepiece for the documentary, Ann Shin, is an inspiration. Not only does she draw critical attention to a very urgent issue (the defection of North Koreans), she actually gets as close as she can to the actual defection route – which is way more complicated as you can imagine.”
A great way to end 2013 – Happy New Year!

4 December, 2013

The Defector Interactive Wins Digi Award!

Last night in Toronto, Next Media Events hosted their annual Digi Awards to celebrate the companies, products and people making waves in the digital media industry. We are proud to announce that The Defector Interactive won the award for Best in Cross Platform Non-Fiction!
If you have haven’t yet had the chance to use the Interactive, you can still check it out - experience.thedefectormovie.com
Thank you to everyone that took the time to vote in the online poll, we might never have gotten the nomination without your help!

And congratulations to all the other Digi Award winners!

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25 June, 2013

TVO BROADCAST AND ADC SCREENING IN NYC

After months of touring the festival circuit, we are very excited for our TVO television broadcast premiere!
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Catch The Defector on TVO in one of these five time-slots (all EST):
Wednesday, June 26th at 9:00pm & 12:00am
Thursday, June 27th at 9:00pm
Friday, June 28th at 10:30pm
Sunday, June 30th at 10:00pm
ADC-Butter-DefectorAnd for our friends in New York, the Art Director’s Club in NYC will be hosting a screening of The Defector this Thursday, June 27th at 7:00pm. We invite you to join Ann Shin and Jam3 for a screening, Q&A, and a special interactive experience (not to mention open bar!).
The event fills up quickly! RSVP at http://www.adcglobal.org/adc/events/calendar/#438

14 June, 2013

THE DEFECTOR TO BROADCAST THIS JUNE!

The Defector will be having its first broadcast this June in Canada and Australia, marking the 63rd anniversary of the Korean war.

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In Australia you can catch THE DEFECTOR: ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREA, presented by Kerry O’Brien, on Monday June 17th at 8.30pm on ABC1. It is repeated on Tuesday June 18th at 11.35pm and can also be seen on ABC News 24 on Saturday June 22nd at 8.00pm or ABC iview .

In Canada, THE DEFECTOR will air on TVO Wednesday, June 26th at 9:00pm and midnight EST. It will be repeated on Thursday, June 27th at 9:00pm EST, Friday, June 28th at 10:30pm EST, and Sunday June 30th at 10:00pm EST.

We hope you will be able to tune in!

6 June, 2013

The Defector Op Doc on the Front Page of The New York Times

The Defector is on the Front Page of the NYTimes today! An exclusive OpDocs piece was prepared for the NYTimes and it spent the morning claiming the front-and-center space on the front page.
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The feature comes at a time when raising awareness about defectors is crucial. Nine young North Korean defectors were captured in Laos last week and repatriated back to North Korea through China. They range in age from 14 to 22, and are said to be orphaned Kotjebi. They are among tens of thousands of defectors living in hiding in Asia who try to escape via China and Laos. Considering the grave risks that they took to escape North Korea, it’s troubling that China and Laos, among other nations, do not offer them protection.
The Defector will be having its UK premiere at the upcoming Sheffield Doc/Fest and is nominated for the Sheffield Innovation Award.