Sundance premiere of South Korean couple abducted by dictator

The stranger-than-fiction story about a famous South Korean film director and a glamorous actress abducted by North Korea's movie-obsessed Kim Jong-il has premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
"The Lovers and the Despot," a documentary by British filmmakers Ross Adam and Robert Cannan, traces the bizarre tale of director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee, the golden couple of South Korean cinema in the 1960s.
"We approached this project with an open mind but, like most people, when you first hear the story, it does seem too fantastic to be true," Cannan said. "Essentially our opinion shifted that way and this way as we made the film."

The famous couple were married and the toast of the town with their two adopted children until their divorce over Chin's affair with another woman. They eventually fell from grace in their country and ended up bankrupt.
As they struggled to revive their careers, both were kidnapped on orders of movie-mad Kim Jong-il, who was bent on using them to make films that could compete on the international stage.
At the time, Kim had not yet succeeded his father as North Korea's leader.

Choi was the first to be abducted in 1977, while on a trip to Hong Kong where she was lured to discuss a movie deal.

Shin was snatched soon after when he traveled to Hong Kong in search of his ex-wife, with whom he had remained close. He was held in a North Korean prison for four years before being reunited with Choi.
Realizing their predicament, the couple cooperated with Kim, producing a series of movies and winning his trust.