“Beyond Utopia” shortlisted for Best Documentary Feature at 2024 Oscars

The Human Rights Foundation (HRF) is pleased to announce that “Beyond Utopia,” a film following the desperate and harrowing journeys of several individuals as they attempt to escape North Korea, has landed on the Oscars shortlist for Best Documentary Feature, Variety reported.

Executive produced by HRF, “Beyond Utopia” features Oslo Freedom Forum (OFF) speaker, Korean human rights activist, and head of the South Korea-based Caleb Mission, Pastor Seungeun Kim, who has made it his life’s work to rescue North Koreans. Over the past 23 years, he has led a modern-day underground railroad, saving roughly 1,000 people and counting through a network of smugglers and activists. As the film depicts, Pastor Kim often puts his own life on the line too, joining freedom-seekers on parts of their treacherous journey over thousands of miles through jungles and rivers to safety outside the Hermit Kingdom.

Dubbed “an astonishing, real-life geopolitical thriller” by The Hollywood Reporter and “a staggering look at the nightmare of North Korea and the brave souls who tried to escape it” by Variety, the film has already received critical acclaim. It won the Audience Award for US Documentary at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.

The Oscar nomination period will run from Jan. 11-16, with the official nominees named on Jan. 23. Final voting is Feb. 22-27.

Stream “Beyond Utopia” now on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Apple TV, and YouTube.