Iron Crows

Canadian Premiere

Screening Time
Friday, May 28, 4:30pm

Film Trailer

Documentary/ South Korea / 2009 / 60 minutes
Director： Bong-Nam Park
Producer: Min-Chul Kim
Executive Producer: Kyung-Ran Kang (FNS)
Produced by FNS (Frontline News Services)
Language : Bengali w/ English subtitles

“I’m not scared. I could die today, tomorrow or a day later.”

Every day, some 20,000 people in Chittagong, a small port city of southern Bangladesh, risk their lives for two dollars. An average of 20 workers die in Chittagong every year dismantling retired old ships from different parts of the world. Despite harsh working environments filled with contaminants and toxic gases, the people of Chittagong consider these ships to be gifts of God. 21-year-old Belal, who has been away from home for ten years, skilled worker Rufik, who has devoted all 32 of his years to Chittagong, and 12-year-young child laborer Ekramul tell the heart-wrenching story of life in the shadows of these colossal ship-breaking yards.

Award

Best Mid-length Documentary, Amsterdam International Film Festival, (2009)

“…Perhaps the most important achievement of this powerful film is the courage, dignity and humility of our heroes trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of crushing poverty. This film is a tour de force!” – IDFA 2009 Jury’s comment

About Bong-Nam Park

Bong-Nam Park was born in 1966 and majored in Korean history at Seoul National University. Over his last 15 years as an independent filmmaker, Park has directed and produced around 30 documentaries for the audiences of Korean broadcasters including KBS and EBS. Despite the diversity of the subjects he has chosen for his filmmaking, Park’s interest has always been focused on Asia and its people. Park recently won the Best Mid-length Award at IDFA, the world’s largest documentary film festival, with his international debut, Iron Crows. He is now working on his next project, Hungry River, a sequel to Iron Crows. Besides being a filmmaker, he is also actively involved in activities to promote and support Korea’s documentary scene. Park has led the education department of the Korean Independent Producers Association since 2007.