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| ▲ This photo is from the online conference showing Ryan White, director of the documentary "Assassins". (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Watcha (a South Korean subscription VOD service) and The Coup corporation (a South Korean import and distribution company), shows a scene from "Assassins". (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Watcha (a South Korean subscription VOD service) and The Coup corporation (a South Korean import and distribution company), shows a scene from "Assassins". (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, July 29 (Yonhap) -- “I did not 100% believe the two’s innocence”, said Ryan White, director of the documentary film “Assassins” featuring the murder of Kim Jong-nam, brother of the North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un.
Director White said that during a thorough investigation of the assassination he found out the two women in the center of the incident were just used as a murder tool regardless of their wills, during an online conference just after the premiere on the 28th.
“Assassins” focuses on Indonesian Siti Aisyah and Vietnames Doan Thi Huong who smeared a highly toxic chemical, VX nerve agent, across Kim’s face in 2017, 13th of February at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Malayisa. The two denied the crime explaining that they thought they were taking part in a hidden camera show.
Director White said, “The ultimate question was who were these women. I wanted to center on who they were before the event took place and how they ended up engaging in the assassin” and “thought simply tracing the lives of these two to find out whether they were telling the truth or not could be an attractive point of the documentary.”
The filming crew worked for 2 years interviewing Siti and Doan’s lawyers, friends and families and analyzing almost a thousand-hour-length of the airport CCTV and recordings of the court. During the procedure, the director said that they started to believe the two women’s sincerity.
“The incident lacked crucial evidence. There were thousands of proofs including phone messages with the North and Facebook records but the evidence that points guilty was missing. The only part the prosecutor and the judge regarded noteworthy was them washing hands just after the crime, but which turned out be an instruction from the North according to their messages with them.”
The most astonishing moment was Siti’s sudden release, said White. It was because Malaysia at that time wished to conclude guilty on the two and cover up the case considering the national relationship with North Korea.
“In my opinion, South Korea out of all countries was the most interested in this case” and “of course, the film inevitably contains political contents but I ask for the watchers to mainly concentrate on the lives of the two women”, asked the director.
To a question asking whether he wanted Kim Jong-un to watch this film, White answered, “Considering the leader’s previous patterns, it can be guessed that he may already know about the film. The assassination may have been able to be carried out far more quietly and confidentially however it took place in a public scene. There should be millions of theories but maybe Kim Jong-un wished to exhibit the happening of the murder. Related people may want to watch this documentary if they get to know its presence.”
White revealed his biggest stress ever out of his whole career while producing the film, not to mention the persuading of Siti and Doan to appear in the documentary after their releases.
“There wasn’t any direct physical threat, but there were concerns about cyber security such as with phones and laptops. With the hacking of Sony Pictures (which is known to have been done by the North) at that time, I took caution and even received consultant from the FBI. I couldn’t sleep soundly. People around me told me not produce the film, being worried of any troubles. As a documentary director I think I went through the most harsh and fearful times.”
“For my mental health, I never want to produce a work related to North Korea again” but also added a wish for someone else’s attention about the country. Especially he showed an interest in the whereabouts of Kim Jong-nam’s son, Kim Han-sol.
“Kim Jong-nam had a son now in disappearance, and there are rumors of his whereabouts. I did not cover that story thinking that it had no relation with Siti and Doan, but for anyone interested in whether this figure can be a threat to Kim Jong-un’s regime, this doubt may be a good starting point.”
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