Saturday, June 13
2:15 PM - 3:45 PM

Regal Gallery Place

701 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001

for all screenings

School for Defectors

Film Language

Korean

Director

Jeremy Workman

Executive Producer

Daniel Dae Kim

Producer

Sona Jo

Editor

Jean Rheem

Co-Editor

Jean Rheem

Cinematographers

Chul-nyung Heo, Jeongkeun Kim, Jinsil Lee

Sound

Haneun Kim

Composer

Brian H. Kim

Music

Olivier Manchon, Clare Manchon

Contact

In an industrial corner of Busan, South Korea, stands the tiny Jangdaehyun School. It is home to 20 students, all of whom are North Korean defectors. With unprecedented access to a community never seen on film, SCHOOL FOR DEFECTORS gives voice to young people whom the world might otherwise overlook—illuminating not just what they’ve endured, but who they are about to become. What emerges is a deeply human story of hope, youth, and possibility.

Director, School For Defectors

Jeremy Workman is a documentary filmmaker praised for creating a genre of uniquely cinematic character portraits that take viewers deep inside extraordinary worlds. His documentaries have garnered significant recognition, playing at major film festivals and seeing global releases in theaters, on television, and across streaming platforms.

His acclaimed films include SECRET MALL APARTMENT (streaming on Netflix), LILY TOPPLES THE WORLD (streaming on Max), DECIDING VOTE (streaming on The New Yorker), THE WORLD BEFORE YOUR FEET (streaming on Amazon Prime Video), and MAGICAL UNIVERSE (streaming on AMC+).

His most recent documentary, SCHOOL FOR DEFECTORS, tells the story of a small school in South Korea where all the students are North Korean defectors. He is also at work on his next film, WHIZ-BANG!, a madcap, chain-reaction-filled journey into the world of Rube Goldberg artists.