Russian film exposes the workings of North Korea's propaganda machine

A new film on life in North Korea has caused a diplomatic row after the director used officially sanctioned shoots to demonstrate how the state manipulates its people.

Authorities are said to have tried to prevent screenings of Under the Sun, a film that follows a North Korean girl as she prepares to celebrate the Day of the Shining Star, the birthday of former supreme leader Kim Jong-il.

Directed by veteran film-maker Vitaly Mansky, the documentary crew gained unprecedented access to the country by making the North Korean regime an official production partner and allowing officials complete control over the script.

But despite being watched constantly by government minders during filming, Mansky found a way to expose the propaganda machine by leaving the camera running while each shot was set up.

The film reveals how government representatives seek to construct an image of a

n “ideal” family, capturing the hectoring of officials as they tell the Koreans what to say, how to sit and when to smile.