Oscar Hopeful ‘Beyond Utopia’ Kicks Off Winter Slate for PBS Doc Series ‘Independent Lens’ (EXCLUSIVE)

variety.com:

Addie Morfoot Contributor Madeleine Gavin’s Sundance award-winning documentary “Beyond Utopia” will kick off the winter season of PBS documentary series “Independent Lens” on Jan.

9. Using hidden camera footage, the 115-minute doc follows the high-stakes journey that a handful of desperate families make in order to defect from North Korea — a country with the most brutal regime on earth, led by a dictator, Kim Jong-un.

The doc, which was acquired by Roadside Attractions in August, is vying for Academy Award attention. “Beyond Utopia” is one of six feature docus that make up the program’s winter slate, which begins in January and concludes on Mach 25.

Notably, all six films were directed by women and filmmakers of color. The selected titles cover a wide range of timely issues including racial tensions, gentrification, mental health, representation, and humanity through the lens of individuals, families, and tight-knit communities, “At a time of tremendous upheaval around the world, Independent Lens offers stories about individuals struggling to be free,” says “Independent Lens” executive producer Lois Vossen. “Starting with the gripping account of families who risk everything to escape North Korea, to Floridians fighting to keep their homes, rural Americans struggling with addiction, and women rewriting how and who reports the news, at the core of these documentaries are authentic people telling their own stories.” Following the television debut of “Beyond Utopia” on Jan.