[SECTION 3] Cold War Theater / October 14th?19th

Moranbong, une aventure cor?enne

France, 1958, 90min, B&W, DigiBeta

Jean-Claude Bonnardot

모란봉
At the beginning of the Korean war, the love story between a young worker and the daughter of a musician unfolds in the city of Kaesong. Moranbong, une aventure cor?enne is intriguing and extraordinary as much for its form as its background of production. It was a film that was almost made by accident. The director Bonnardot and the writer Gatti joined a delegation of journalists and artists including Chris Marker and Claude Lanzmann who were invited to North Korea in the spring of 1958, only five years after the end of the Korean War. Their initial plan was to make a short film during their trip, but they changed their plan and decided to make a feature film with the full support of the local authorities.
 
Born in 1923 in Paris. Jean-Claude Bonnardot lived as an actor, writer and director. His first film Moranbong, une aventure cor?enne was borne out of his trip to North Korea as part of a French delegation. He went on to work mainly in television and was celebrated for his screen adaptation of Adolfo Bioy Casares’ novel, L’invention de Morel for French TV, and he explored many different genres throughout his career. Bonnardot passed away on 20 January, 1981.