The Defector: Escape from North Korea

The Defector: Escape from North Korea
Directed byAnn Shin
Release date
  • 2012 (2012)
CountryCanada
LanguagesEnglish, Korean

The Defector: Escape from North Korea is a 2012 documentary film about North Korean defectors, directed by Korean-Canadian filmmaker Ann Shin. The film premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and had its broadcast premiere on TVOntario on June 26. The film's release was accompanied by The Defector Interactive, an interactive documentary that uses a videogame-like approach to let the user find out about life in and escape from North Korea.[1][2][3] That the film opened at International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA) of Amsterdam,[4] and went on to play at numerous of festivals, winning three Canadian Screen Awards: Best Documentary, Best Documentary Director and the Diversity Award.[5]

  1. ^ "The story of North Koreans who defect to China and beyond". The Current. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 26 April 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  2. ^ Seagal, Alina (27 June 2013). "Canadian filmmaker teams up with smuggler to help North Korean defectors". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  3. ^ Barnard, Linda (26 April 2013). "Hot Docs: The Defector tracks a harrowing escape from North Korea". Toronto Star. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  4. ^ "The Defector: Escape from North Korea". IDFA Website. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  5. ^ "TVO Documentaries Take Top Honours at the 2014 Canadian Screen Awards". Cision. 6 March 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2021.