Irish Film Institute -IFI Documentary Festival 2016: The Lovers and The Despot

IFI Documentary Festival 2016: The Lovers and The Despot

Director: Ross Adam & Robert Cannan

94 mins, UK, 2016, Digital, Subtitled


This screening will be followed by a Q&A with Directors Ross Adam and Robert Cannan.

The history of Hollywood is replete with bizarre tales, but for sheer strangeness few can match the one recounted in this gripping film that illuminates a dark chapter of Korean cinema lore. In 1978 North Korean dictator (and movie buff) Kim Jong-il kidnapped a famed South Korean celebrity couple – actress Choi Eun-hee and director Shin Sang-ok – hoping their star wattage would invigorate his burgeoning moviemaking empire. A seamless blend of interview, recreation and archival footage, the film features rare recordings of the dictator, secretly taped by the captive lovers. 

This event is screening as part of IFI Documentary Festival 2016 (September 22- 25)

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