Soon mi yoo biography of michael

In Songs From the North, the South Korean–born, U.S.-based filmmaker Soon-Mi Yoo takes her camera to North Korea and, through a purposeful mix of on-location footage, poetic intertitles (“Is North Korea the loneliest place on Earth?”), and archival media, creates an empathetic snapshot of a country that is almost never depicted in such an accessible light.

Indeed, Yoo’s emphasis on capturing the everyday in this heavily censored state is so rare and extraordinary that her subjects can’t help but comment on it: “You really are filming everything!” a man says as a long take lingers on his teary-eyed face.

Later, a woman asks, “Of all things, why film me cleaning?” and Yoo’s response to an offscreen spectator — “Isn’t she pretty?” — betrays her heartfelt investment in the human faces she documents.

Yoo’s main interview sub