"A State of Mind" (2004) offers a rare and fascinating glimpse of everyday life in North Korea. British director Daniel Gordon got permission to shoot this documentary in Pyongyang after making a previous film in North Korea, ?The Game of Their Lives,? in 2002. Ostensibly a sports story about two girls training for the 2003 national Mass Games?the North Korean equivalent of the World Series, Superbowl and Oscars rolled into one??State? actually is a revealing portrait of the girls? school lives, family lives, and belief systems in a country about which not much is known outside of the country.

(http://journalism.berkeley.edu/projects/north_korea/2005/10/a_state_of_mind.html)

As the United States confronts North Korea over its impending resumption of nuclear weapons production, North Koreans prepare to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their supposed "victory" over the South in the Korean War. This documentary will tell the story of two teenage girls and their families as the girls prepare to participate in this year's Mass Games, an intricately choreographed display of dancers, acrobats, and karate-chopping soldiers, celebrating North Korea's statehood and revolutionary zeal in one of the last surviving Communist showcase pageants. North Koreans rehearse for millions of hours in preparation for this unique extravaganza. We'll see the girls and their schoolmates practice their routines in Kim Il Sung Square, their diligent efforts leading toward an awe-inspiring public performance. This film yields surprising insights into family life and daily activity in the little known world of the "hermit kingdom."

(http://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/about/film_s2_f9.html)