Beyond Utopia
Madeleine Gavin
114 mins | 2022
A suspenseful look at the lengths people will go to gain freedom, Beyond Utopia follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on Earth, a land they grew up believing was a paradise.
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A suspenseful look at the lengths people will go to gain freedom, Beyond Utopia follows various individuals as they attempt to flee North Korea, one of the most oppressive places on Earth, a land they grew up believing was a paradise.
At the Beyond Utopia’s core is a mother desperate to reunite with the child she was forced to leave behind; a family of five — including small children and an elderly grandmother — embarking on a treacherous journey across the Yalu River and into the hostile mountains of China; and a man of God on a mission to help these desperate souls. Leaving their homeland is fraught with danger — severe punishment if caught and possibly even execution — as well as potential exploitation by unscrupulous brokers. Family members who remain behind also may face retribution. Yet these individuals are driven to take the risk.
Gripping, visceral, and urgent, Madeleine Gavin’s film embeds the viewer with these family members as they attempt their perilous escape, palpably conveying life-or-death stakes. The result is a singular, illuminating, and unforgettable experience.
Madeleine Gavin
Madeleine Gavin is an Emmy-nominated filmmaker who has edited award-winning narrative and documentary films that have premiered at Sundance, Toronto, Berlinale, and Cannes, among others. Madeleine directed and edited Beyond Utopia, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival where it received the Audience Award for Best Documentary. The film has gone on to receive multiple awards, including a duPont-Columbia Journalism Award. It was shortlisted for the Oscars and is currently nominated for a BAFTA.
Prior to her work on Beyond Utopia, Madeleine directed and edited the Netflix Original Documentary, City of Joy, which follows a group of women at a revolutionary leadership center in the war-torn eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Madeleine is currently in production on a film that follows an indomitable group of octogenarians in New York City who, while facing debilitating illnesses, are finding transcendence through their relationship with an irascible, larger-than-life music coach. Madeleine is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
CREDITS
Director
Madeleine Gavin
City Of Joy
Writer
Madeleine Gavin
Producer
Jana Edelbaum
Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, Strange Weather, House of Z
Producer
Rachel Cohen
Idina Menzel: Which Way to the Stage?, The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete, Strange Weather, House of Z
Producer
Sue Mi Terry
Executive Producers
Christian Camargo, Sharon Chang, Douglas Choi, Michael Y. Chow, Geralyn Dreyfous, David Fialkow, Nina Fialkow, Meadow Fund, Christopher Gebhardt, Randy Gebhardt, Megan Gelstein, Thor Halvorssen, Cristina Ljungberg, Peter Resnick, Deepen Shah, Hannah Song, Victoria Steventon, Sue Turley, Lois Vossen
Co-Executive Producers
Ali Mahir Aksu, Alexia Blaze, Dawn Bonder, Alan Kingsberg, Jennifer Pelling, Beesham Seecharan, Blaine Vess, Esther Vess, Marci Wiseman
Co-Producers
Daewon Choi, Janna Devinsky
Archival Producers
Jeff Dye, Magda Gora
Composers
Taylor Page, Adam Taylor
Director of Photography
Hyun Seok Kim
Editor
Madeleine Gavin
AWARDS
WINNER: duPont-Columbia Journalism Award Silver Baton
WINNER: Sundance Film Festival Audience Award 2023, US Documentary
WINNER: ACADEMY AWARD SHORTLIST
WINNER: DiscussingFilm Critic Award (DFCA) - Best Documentary Feature
WINNER: Aspen Film Festival: Audience Award 2023
WINNER: Woodstock Film Festival - The Leon Gast Award for Best Feature Documentary 2023 & Best Editing: Documentary
WINNER: Sydney Film Festival: Gio Audience Award for Best International Documentary 2023
WINNER: Millennium Docs Against Gravity Poland Film Festival All About Freedom Award
WINNER: Durban Film Festival: Amnesty International Durban Human Rights Award
WINNER: Hamptons International Film Festival - Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for Films of Conflict and Resolution and the New York Women In Film and Television Award - Excellence in Documentary Filmmaking
WINNER: DOC NYC - Winner’s Circle Special Selection
NOMINATION: BAFTA AWARD, Best Documentary Feature
NOMINATION: PGA AWARD, Best Documentary Feature
NOMINATION: DGA AWARD, Best Documentary Feature