On Friday, the U.S. State Department screened an award-winning documentary film about the harrowing process of escaping from North Korea at its headquarters in Washington.

The film "Beyond Utopia" tells the story of a North Korean family that escapes to South Korea through China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand and of a mother trying to bring her North Korean son to the South.

Directed by noted U.S. independent filmmaker Madeleine Gavin, the film won an Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival and a GIO Audience Award at the Sydney Film Festival last year. It has also been nominated for a U.S. Academy Award this year.

The U.S. State Department screened the documentary before an audience of State Department staff, North Korean human rights activists, North Korean defectors and South Korean diplomats in Washington to raise awareness of North Korean human rights.

In an introductory address, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights Uzra Zeya said Americans must act to improve the lives of North Koreans "because they deserve better" and that people in the U.S. "cannot sit by and do nothing."

She added that the international community "must not stay silent" about North Korean human rights abuses.

Julie Turner, the U.S. special envoy for North Korean human rights who led the screening event, expressed hope that the film would generate increased public interest in North Korea human rights issues. 

Participating in the event remotely, Lee Shin-wha, South Korea's envoy for North Korean human rights stressed that North Korean human rights should not neglected as the world is focused on other global crises in Ukraine and Gaza.