Independent Lens

Beyond Utopia

By Madeleine Gavin. A production of Ideal Partners in association with 19340 Productions, XRM Media, the Random Good Foundation, and the Human Rights Foundation.

They grew up believing their land was paradise. Now, they risk everything in escaping it. In an unforgettable documentary, follow families on a treacherous journey to defect from their homeland of North Korea, as the threat of severe punishment and possible execution looms over their passage, revealing a world many have never seen.