[1] The event originated in 1987 as the Pyongyang Film Festival of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries (Korean: 쁠럭불가담 및 기타 발전도상나라들의 평양 영화 축전; RR: Ppeulleokbulgadam Mit Gita Baljeondosangnaradeurui Pyeongyang Yeonghwa Chukjeon; MR: Ppŭllŏkpulgadam Mit Kit'a Palchŏndosangnaradŭrŭi P'yŏngyang Yŏnghwa Ch'ukchŏn).

[1] The ninth festival, held in 2004, moderated cultural restrictions further with the screening of a dubbed and censored version of the British comedy Bend It Like Beckham[4] and U.S.-produced South African drama Cry, The Beloved Country.

[5] Bend it like Beckham won the music prize[citation needed] and later it became the first Western-made film shown on television in North Korea.

[citation needed] The Schoolgirl's Diary, which was released the same year, became the first North Korean film in several decades to be picked up for international distribution, when it was purchased by French company Pretty Pictures.

[3] Many of the films are censored and often have themes emphasising family values, loyalty and the temptations of money.

[10] Johannes Schönherr, author of North Korean Cinema: A History and a festival delegate in 2000, said "The Pyongyang International Film Festival is a big propaganda event and foreigners who attend the event become extras in the big propaganda show.