EXCLUSIVE: Munya Chawawa is taking his BAFTA-nominated How to Survive a Dictator brand to one of the most notorious places on Earth.
The viral comedian is shining a spotlight on North Korea‘s Kim Jong-Un via a Channel 4 doc from Late Night Lycett producer Rumpus Media, which will be at Sheffield DocFest next month.
Chawawa, known for his recognizable brand of satirical humor and a regular on British TV, will head to Switzerland, Seoul and suburban West London for How to Survive a Dictator: North Korea, tracking down a school friend of Kim’s and meeting the people who have seen the effects of the Kim regime first hand. In the West, Kim is often presented as a maniac ready to blow up the world, but he has confounded critics during his 12-year reign, enjoying bromances with Donald Trump, Dennis Rodman and Vladimir Putin.
“It’s been tricky to not feel a sense of ‘apocalypse anxiety’ recently and a lot of that stems from North Korea and Kim Jong Un, so doing this doc has not only been fascinating, but also given me a strange sense of closure,” said Chawawa.
Chawawa’s first How to Survive a Dictator explored Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe, earning the team a BAFTA nominee in the Specialist Factual category.
Channel 4 specialist factual boss Shaminder Nahal added: “In his utterly unique style Munya Chawawa, with the exceptional team from Rumpus lead by Iain Wimbush, will explore the world of Kim Jong Un in a surprising and compelling way.”
Ex-Rumpus boss Wimbush is EPing the project with Morgan Roberts but has exited Rumpus and is currently in the process of setting up his own indie. Producer/director is Tomasz Frymorgan.