After winning approval to make a film in Pyongyang about North Korea's movie industry, Singapore-based independent filmmakers James Leong and Lynn Lee faced a dilemma. The approval came with conditions, one of which was a review of all of their footage by North Korean censors.

在拍摄一部有关朝鲜电影产业的纪录片的计划获得平壤方面的有条件批准后，来自新加坡的独立电影制作人梁思众(James Leong)和李成琳(Lynn Lee)夫妇显得进退两难──获准拍摄的条件之一是，他们在朝所拍的全部胶片都要接受朝鲜方面的审查。

After much deliberation they decided to go ahead, and in making 'The Great North Korean Picture Show' were given access to Pyongyang's main movie studios, which includes sets that are built to resemble South Korea and the U.S. The movie, now available on demand on Vimeo.com, also features interviews with star director Pyo Hang and actors in training.

经过一番深思熟虑后，两人最终决定开拍。在拍摄纪录片《伟大的朝鲜电影》(The Great North Korean Picture Show)的过程中，他们获得许可进入了平壤几家主要的电影制片厂，其间还看到了模仿韩国和美国的场景而搭的布景。影片中还有对明星导演Pyo Hang以及多位演员在排练时的采访片段。该影片目前可以在Vimeo.com网站上看到。

The 94-minute feature has been shown at various film festivals. Some reviewers have questioned how much of what the couple were allowed to film was staged. But perhaps the strongest aspect of the film was exactly that they showed propaganda in the making, and the real passions and emotions that generates.

这部94分钟的影片已在多个电影节上展映。一些影评人提出疑问，两人获准拍摄的镜头中，最终得以上映的占到了多少呢。不过，也许该片最有力的视角正是他们在制作过程中展示的朝鲜电影作为宣传机器的一面，以及由其释放的真实的狂热和情感。

Korea Real Time spoke to the couple about how they came to make the film, the challenges involved and ultimately how happy they were with it.

“朝韩实时报”(Korea Real Time)栏目就夫妇两人如何想到拍摄这部影片、拍摄期间面临的挑战以及最终上映后的心情等问题对他们进行了采访。

KRT: Why did you want to do a documentary on this theme?

《华尔街日报》：你们是如何想到要拍摄这样一个题材的纪录片的？

Our documentary, 'Aki Ra's Boys' was invited to the Pyongyang International Film Festival in 2008. It was there that we first learnt about the North Korean film industry. The movie stars and directors we met told us their primary role was to serve their leaders and craft messages that would glorify them. They viewed themselves as creators of propaganda, rather than makers of entertainment. It was fascinating on numerous levels. We felt we wanted to learn more.

梁思众和李成琳：我们拍摄的纪录片《阿基拉的孩子们》(Aki Ra's Boys)获邀参加了2008年的平壤国际电影节(Pyongyang International Film Festival)。在那里，我们第一次对朝鲜的电影产业有了一些了解。我们见到的一些影星和导演告诉我们，他们的首要任务是为领导人服务，创作为领导人歌功颂德的作品。他们把自己视为宣传材料的创作者，而不是娱乐产品的制作人。那里的氛围强烈地吸引着你想要进一步去探究一番。我们觉得我们想要做更多的了解。

KRT: Who did you contact and negotiate with over the plans?

《华尔街日报》：你们是和谁接触并协商这个拍摄方案的？

We started talking about the idea while we were in Pyongyang and had a lot of support from a young North Korean film enthusiast working for Korfilm, the organizers of the festival. In many ways, he was the one who made filming in North Korea a reality for us. It wasn't easy though and the process took months.

梁思众和李成琳：还在平壤的时候，我们就开始谈论这个想法。我们从一位年轻的朝鲜电影爱好者那里获得了很大的支持。他在电影节的组织者朝鲜电影进出口公司(Korfilm)工作。从很多方面来看，正是他帮助我们把在朝拍摄计划变为了现实。当然，这并不是一件容易的事，整个过程持续了好几个月。

KRT: What problems did you run into while filming, other than having to submit everything for review?

《华尔街日报》：除了所有电影胶片要上交送审外，在拍摄过程中你们还遇到了哪些麻烦？

We visited North Korea four times over the course of a year. Arranging the trips wasn't easy and there were times when we didn't know, even up till the day of our scheduled departure if we were going to get visas. We were also affected by geopolitical tensions. One of our trips had to be postponed because of the (November 2010) shelling of South Korea's Yeongpyeong island by North Korea.

梁思众和李成琳：一年之内，我们四度造访朝鲜。安排行程不是件容易的事。有些时候，甚至在我们按照计划应该启程的日子当天，我们都还不知道能不能拿到签证。我们也曾受到当地紧张政治局势的影响。有一次，由于朝鲜（于2010年11月）炮击韩国的延坪岛(Yeongpyeong island)，我们不得不推迟了行程。

We also had to strike a balance between dealing with censorship and making a film that was credible. In order to get permission to shoot, we had to agree to certain rules. Our North Korean fixers had taken considerable risks in helping us arrange our shoots. We felt it would be unconscionable to get them in trouble by willfully breaking the rules.

同时，我们还必须在应付审查程序与制作一部可信的电影这两者间达到一种平衡。为了获得拍摄许可，我们不得不遵循某些规则。我们的几位朝鲜协调人为了帮助我们安排拍摄已经冒了相当大的风险了。我们觉得，假如不管不顾地进行违规拍摄而让他们惹上麻烦，会让我们在良心上过意不去。

Some audiences make the mistake of thinking that the censors had final say on the actual film. This is incorrect. Their job wasn't to help shape the documentary. Their job was to look at our footage to make sure we didn't run off and do anything that was unscheduled. As long as we stuck to our schedule, we given plenty of leeway to film whatever we wanted. The one exception was the Film Museum. We ran into problems over the way we 'framed' images of North Korea's leaders.

一些观众有一些错误的想法，认为朝鲜的审查机构对影片的内容有最终决定权。这是不正确的。审查人员的工作并不是参与修改这部纪录片。他们的职责是检查我们胶片上的内容，确信我们没有开小差跑去做其他任何不在日程计划中的事。只要我们严格遵照日程计划行事，我们就能获得不少空间拍摄任何我们想要的镜头。唯一的一次例外是在电影博物馆(Film Museum)。那一次，由于给朝鲜领导人的肖像照加了“框框”，我们遇上了麻烦。

KRT: Was anything else cut other than the footage of the pictures and inscriptions by Kim Jong Il that you didn't film straight on at the museum?

《华尔街日报》：除了那些不是你们在博物馆里直接拍出的包括照片和金正日(Kim Jong Il)题字在内的素材，胶片中还有没有其他内容被删掉了？

Mainly images that they felt were 'unflattering'. For instance, shots of bicycles on the road, or of young extras playing cards while waiting for their turn to go on set. There was footage that the censors wanted to exclude, but which they ultimately allowed because we argued hard for the inclusion. The blackouts for example, were initially disallowed.

梁思众和李成琳：主要是一些被他们认为“不招人喜欢的”影像。比如，公路上的自行车，或是在摄影棚外一边打牌一边等着拍摄的年轻的临时演员。审查人员确实想要把一些内容删掉，不过由于我们据理力争，他们最终还是允许通过了。举个例子，灯火管制的那些镜头最初就是不被允许的。

KRT: The female acting student and family you profile seem very comfortable with the camera. How did you get to film them?

《华尔街日报》：影片中讲述的那名表演系的女生和她的家人，在镜头前的表现看上去很轻松。你们是如何选中他们进行拍摄的？

We only got to meet Yun Mi's family during our final trip to Pyongyang. By then, we had already known her for nearly a year, so she was quite comfortable with having cameras follow her around. Yun Mi was part of a small group of students we met early on in our shoot. Her teacher suggested we interview her because she had had to overcome her parents' objection in order to be an actress. We think her privileged background was perhaps another reason for his recommendation.

梁思众和李成琳：我们是在最后一次去平壤时才见到Yun Mi的家人的。那个时候，我们认识Yun Mi已经差不多有一年了，所以当有摄像机在她周围进行拍摄的时候，她能表现得很轻松。Yun Mi是我们在拍摄初期结识的一小群学生中的一个。她的老师建议我们对她进行采访──这是因为Yun Mi当初为了做演员要努力去克服来自父母的阻力。我们觉得，Yun Mi家的特权背景可能是这位老师推荐她的另一个原因。

KRT: How happy are you with the end result?

《华尔街日报》：对于影片的最终成果，你们有多满意？

As filmmakers, we wish we didn't have to follow the rules imposed on us. We wish visas weren't such a big problem and we were able to have more time with each of our subjects. Still, we're glad we were able to open a small window into a world most people outside North Korea would otherwise never see. One of the things we said to each other when we were editing was that we thought audiences would not know what to make of the film. What was the truth? What was a 'show'? How do people deal with being surrounded by so much propaganda and yet maintain their own identities? If we've managed to make some people at least, think about North Korea in a more nuanced way, then yes, we're happy.

梁思众和李成琳：作为电影制作人，我们希望我们不必遵循那些强迫我们接受的规则。我们希望签证不是这么一个大问题，那样我们就能把更多的时间花在我们的每一个拍摄对象上面了。不过，我们还是很高兴我们打开了一小扇窗户，让朝鲜以外的大多数人能一窥这个他们从未见过的世界。当我们做剪辑的时候，我们谈论的一件事情是，我们认为观众无法真正了解这部影片所用的那些素材。什么是真相？什么是“作秀”？人们如何面对无处不在的宣传机器，又如何保持自己的个性？如果我们至少做到了能让一些人以更微妙的方式来看待朝鲜，我们就很满意了。