Pay Off

Alternative Freedom

April 2006 •English

Directors Twila Raftu and Shaun Cronin explore the controversial issue of free data exchange and the growing impact of copyright legislation, intellectual property laws and digital rights management from the viewpoint of those dedicated to the unregulated flow of creative products and information. Advocates of "free culture," including Xbox hacker Andrew "Bunnie" Huang and underground rapper Adam "Doseone" Drucker, offer opinions and commentary.

Ryeohaeng

August 2019 •Korean

A group of women climbs a summer mountain situated in South Korea. They are refugees who have settled into South Korean society after fleeing from North Korea. For them, climbing the mountains has been an unavoidable journey for survival - a matter of life and death.

Shadow Flowers

October 2021 •Korean

Ryun-hee Kim, a North Korean housewife, was forced to come to South Korea and became its citizen against her will. As her seven years of struggle to go back to her family in North Korea continues, the political absurdity hinders her journey back to her loved ones. The life of her family in the North goes on in emptiness, and she fears that she might become someone, like a shadow, who exists only in the fading memory of her family.​

RiP!: A Remix Manifesto

November 2008 •English

RiP!: A Remix Manifesto is a 2008 open source documentary film about the "the changing concept of copyright" directed by Brett Gaylor.

Copyright Criminals

May 2009 •English

Copyright Criminals examines the creative and commercial value of musical sampling, including the related debates over artistic expression, copyright law, and (of course) money. This documentary traces the rise of hip-hop from the urban streets of New York to its current status as a multibillion-dollar industry. For more than thirty years, innovative hip-hop performers and producers have been re-using portions of previously recorded music in new, otherwise original compositions. When lawyers and record companies got involved, what was once referred to as a “borrowed melody” became a “copyright infringement.” The film showcases many of hip-hop music’s founding figures like Public Enemy, De La Soul, and Digital Underground—while also featuring emerging hip-hop artists from record labels Definitive Jux, Rhymesayers, Ninja Tune, and more.

TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay - Away from Keyboard

February 2013 •Swedish

TPB AFK is a documentary about three computer addicts who redefined the world of media distribution with their hobby homepage The Pirate Bay. How did Tiamo, a beer crazy hardware fanatic, Brokep a tree hugging eco activist and Anakata – a paranoid hacker libertarian – get the White House to threaten the Swedish government with trade sanctions? TPB AFK explores what Hollywood’s most hated pirates go through on a personal level.

Other People's Footage: Copyright & Fair Use

January 2016 •English

“Other People’s Footage: Copyright & Fair Use” uses on-camera interviews with 19 noted documentarians including Haskell Wexler, Tia Lessin, Carl Deal, and Scott Hamilton Kennedy along with several legal experts to examine the three questions crucial to determining fair use exemptions for documentary filmmakers. The documentary presents illustrative examples from nonfiction films that use pre-existing footage, music and sound from other individuals' creations—without permission or paying fees.

Filmmakers in Action

September 2006 •Catalan

What is the state of cinema and what being a filmmaker means? What are the measures taken to protect authors' copyright? What is their legal status in different countries? (Sequel to “Filmmakers vs. Tycoons.”)

I Am Sun Mu

October 2015 •Korean

Operating under a pseudonym which means 'no boundaries' - North Korean defector Sun Mu creates political pop art based on his life, homeland, and hope for a future united Korea. His hidden identity is nearly compromised when a massive historical exhibit in Beijing is shuttered by Chinese and North Korean authorities.

Korea, A Hundred Years of War

June 2020 •French

A contemporary history of Korea(s) from a unique point of view that embraces the inner history of both South and North Korea in a single narrative.

O Vozerio

June 2023 •Portuguese

Repatriation

March 2004 •Korean

In 1992, political prisoners from North Korea settled in the South Korean town where filmmaker Dong-won Kim lived. Sent to South Korea as spies during the war, they spent 30 years in jail. How did they endure the many years of torture? What will become of them now that they have been released? Twelve years in the making, Repatriation is a very personal view of a country divided by an ongoing cold war.

Pyeongyang Neangmyeon

April 2022 •Korean

Cheoljung, the chief chef of Okryugwan in North Korea, is separated from his younger brother in South Korea. One day, he was dispatched to make Pyongyang Naengmyeon, for the request of South Korea at the 2018 Inter-Korean Panmunjom Summit. At the same time, his younger brother is also attending as a South Korean entourage. Despite his old age, Cheoljung goes to the Panmunjom to make Pyongyang Naengmyeon which their mother used to cook for the family.

The Lovers and the Despot

September 2016 •English

Hong Kong, 1978. South Korean actress Choi Eun-hee is kidnapped by North Korean operatives following orders from dictator Kim Jong-il.

The Propaganda Game

October 2015 •Spanish

North Korea. The last communist country in the world. Unknown, hermetic and fascinating. Formerly known as “The Hermit Kingdom” for its attempts to remain isolated, North Korea is one of the largest sources of instability as regards world peace. It also has the most militarized border in the world, and the flow of impartial information, both going in and out, is practically non-existent. As the recent Sony-leaks has shown, it is the perfect setting for a propaganda war.

The 2nd Repatriation

September 2022 •Korean

In 2000, in the era of inter-Korean reconciliation, 63 non-converted prisoners were repatriated to the North, and a 2nd repatriation movement was launched in 2001 but failed again and again in later years. As of 2022, the average age of the surviving secondary repatriation applicants is 91.

Project Cheonan Ship

September 2013 •Korean

Interpreting an event of ROKS Cheonan corvette, torpedoed and sunken by North Korea, this documentary rebuilds the event with a different insight. No one can tell if the investigation of Cheonan has reached compelling conclusion. But the film tells and reveals how unreasonable Korean society is.

The Front Line of Ideology

June 2024 •Korean

One year after the Korean War, the conflict had reached a stalemate. The two opposing forces began to search for a way to end the grueling war of attrition, eventually settling on a modest village called ‘Pan Mun Jom’ near Gaeseong as the designated site for negotiations. Despite initial hopes for a quick resolution, the negotiating parties encountered obstacles that prevented an agreement. Disputes over the military demarcation line and the repatriation of prisoners of war thwarted their efforts. The film peels back the layers to reveal the untold story of Pan Mun Jom, shedding light on a history that has remained hidden until now.

You Better Take Cover

May 2015 •English

A film about Men At Work, their hit single Down Under, and the Kookaburra controversy. The band were sued for copyright infringement and faced the label of 'plagiarists', 35 years after their success. An examination of the organic development of the song, its commercial success and cultural significance and questions the relationship between art and law, influence and copyright.

The Border City 2

March 2010 •Korean

In 2003 Song Du-yul, a philosophy professor, decides to go back to his homeland after spending thirty-seven years in Germany. Within a week after crossing the border, his reputation falls from a respected global political figure to an infamous communist spy. During a five-year-long trial, he was arrested and held in custody. This throws Korean society into turmoil and brings a big conflict between the Conservative and the Progressive parties. The filmmaker calmly contemplates this long period of the incident in detail and depicts a society with an indifferent manner. The story builds through an accretion of whimsical facts and it sometimes brings up uncomfortable truths which will irritate viewers. This film is a camera inside of us that evokes what viewers may have tried to forget.