Bright Future
[CALL AND RESPONSE BETWEEN A PERSON AND A LARGE STADIUM CROWD]
Archival, color footage of a stadium filled with people. The audience erupts into noise and display a tifo featuring a colorful pattern of words in Korean.
[NORTH KOREAN SONG “WHISTLE” BEGINS, INSTRUMENTAL AT FIRST]
Close-up on a statue of North Korean leader Kim Il Sung. Camera pans out to show the statue in front of the Korean Revolution Museum and a large mosaic of Mount Paektu.
A traffic guard in uniform points while holding a striped stick.
Pan over the stadium crowd, now displaying a tifo reading “La Solidarite Anti-Imperial-iste, La-Paix Et L’Amite. 1989 Pyongyang.
WOMAN (in voiceover): For the first time in history, in the summer of 1989...
A moving camera pans over a crowd of people standing on a bridge from the vantage point of a moving vehicle.
WOMAN: ...North Korea opens its border to welcome...
A large crowd gathers in front of a building beside a massive flowerlike sign with text in Korean circling the top and a carnival ride. A woman in the forefront carries a sign that says “Romania” in English and Korean.
WOMAN: ...20,000 people from youth organizations...
The camera pans out from a close-up on a map of the world to reveal that it is a massive globe model, which a line of people, some waving flags and some in traditional Korean garb, are standing in front of.
WOMAN: ...all over the world...
A sign reading “Peace, Disarmament, A Nuclear Weapon-Free World, Security.”
WOMAN: ...to discuss the most pressing problems of their time.
A sign that says “Women’s Club” in English and Korean.
A colorful banner that reads “Anti-Imperialist Tribunal” with additional text in Korean and English text noting the location on the 4th Floor of the People’s Palace of Culture in July 1989.
[SINGING BEGINS IN “WHISTLE”]
Quick cuts showing groups of people representing various countries clapping, including men standing behind a long banner with text in English and Arabic and a group in elaborate dress holding up small printouts of their flag.
On a racetrack, various groups walk along the track behind representatives holding up signs denoting the name of the country they represent, including a group in gingham suits representing the USSR, an African group featuring a Kumpo dancer wearing palm leaves, and a group representing the United States. In the center field, a large group of women sit and hold baskets.
A crowd gathers beneath a banner that reads “End to Apartheid and Military Fascist Rule” in English and Korean.
Back on the racetrack, a group walks behind a banner reading “Solidarity with Chinese Students.”
[MUSIC BECOMES QUIETER]
Close-up on a t-shirt with the face of a man at the center of a red star with the text “CCCP” on the upper right. The camera zooms out to reveal the t-shirt wearer, a young man singing on stage.
WOMAN: In a world on the brink of change...
Women perform a coordinated dance in a long line in front of an empty stage.
WOMAN: ...little did they know that...
In the dark, clusters of red and green lights move rapidly across the screen.
WOMAN: ...they were dancing on the edge of a volcano.
A massive statue of Vladimir Lenin is pulled through a crowd of people, led by a man in a construction hat.
WOMAN: Or did they?
Close-up on a woman dancing in a crowd at night.
WOMAN: The hottest summer of the cold war..
A crowd of people assemble, many running toward a line of people who are already gathered.
WOMAN: ...in a North Korea as never seen before.
Close-up on a man whose face is illuminated by red lights, with people seen in the background dancing, his mouth hanging open.
“Manifest Film” and the title “Bright Future” appear over a black background. In between the text is a pixelated gridded globe adorned with an illustrated dove and a North Korean flag, and a large crack as if on digital screen.
[MUSIC ENDS]
Text “a film by Andra Macmasters” appears below the film title.
A credits page appears noting crew and production and co-production companies.
Sunday, May 4
1 pm | Kaufmann Theater
US Premiere
Director in Attendance: Andra MacMasters
2024 | 89 min | North Korea
In July 1989, the 13th World Festival of Students and Youth commenced with unprecedented fanfare. In a display of anti-imperialist unity, 22,000 people from 177 countries arrived in Pyongyang for the event. That summer, which followed the Tiananmen Square protests and preceded the Romanian Revolution, the world order was on the brink of seismic change. Bright Future captures a pivotal moment in the youth struggle for democracy.
The screening will be followed by a talkback with director Andra MacMasters and moderator Noah Bashevkin, director of film at The Office Performing Arts + Film and consultant to the Margaret Mead Film Festival.
Check out the full Margaret Mead Film Festival schedule.