It depicts a year in the life of a family in Pyongyang, North Korea, as their daughter, Zin-mi, prepares to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il's birthday).

The 2015 Russian documentary Under the Sun, directed by Vitaly Mansky, provides a rare and critical glimpse into life in North Korea.

The film follows an eight-year-old girl, Zin-mi, over the course of a year as she prepares to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day of the Shining Star, a national holiday marking Kim Jong-il's birthday.

The production process was heavily monitored by North Korean authorities, who provided a pre-approved script, selected filming locations, and oversaw the footage to ensure compliance with the state’s narrative.

These behind-the-scenes glimpses contrast starkly with the idealized image of North Korean life presented in the approved footage, exposing the extent of state manipulation and propaganda.

By juxtaposing the scripted performances with unfiltered moments, Under the Sun provides a critical lens on North Korea's tightly controlled society.

Its release sparked international debate about the ethics of state-controlled media and the challenges of documenting life in closed societies.. Mansky conceived the project as a film set in a country similar to the Soviet Union.

The project was finalized as a portrait of an 8-year-old school girl named Zin-mi and her family in Pyongyang, focusing on her preparing to join the Korean Children's Union on the Day of the Shining Star (Kim Jong-il's birthday).

The filmmakers received permission to make one research trip to North Korea, and were granted three different shooting periods of 15 days each.

The film crew captured footage of North Korean handlers staging scenes and instructing characters on how to behave and what dialogue to say.

The North Korean government lodged a complaint with the Russian Foreign Ministry, which was a production partner, seeking a ban on screenings of the film.

[13] Following the film's release, Zin-mi's family condemned the project, claiming that it was made dishonestly and edited in a selective way to produce an "anti-North Korean movie."

Museum spokeswoman Margaret Doyle later stated that MoMA had disavowed its previous decision, and the curator in question was no longer employed by the institution.

[18] Robert Boynton of New York University, author of a book on the North Korean abductions of Japanese citizens titled The Invitation-Only Zone, said: "This film confirms the reality that everything is stage-managed.

Boynton also stated that he did not believe Zin-mi's family would suffer any consequences because of the film, adding: "I think the biggest fallout would be probably for, certainly the people who negotiated and allowed Mansky to enter the country, and secondly to the minders who guided his crew.