Defectors

South Korean filmmaker Hyun kyung Kim grew up with the inherited burden of the Korean War, a conflict that left an indelible mark on her family and country. Her mother compulsively fills the house with items she finds on the streets of Seoul while her veteran father devours books about the war.

The filmmaker’s encounter with a North Korean defector mirrors the story of her grandfather, who likely stayed in the North when the country became divided, never to be seen again by his family. DEFECTORS confronts the impact of a brutal war on several generations of the filmmaker’s family.