For a secretive country like North Korea, cinema can be a journey of discovery into cultures and trends otherwise unseen. The late leader Kim Jong-il was a big movie buff who gave a lot of support to the film industry, a propaganda machine for the regime which remains prominent today.

So where to start? Cinema expert Simon Fowler has selected the best five films for the North Korean Network, from the “immortal classic” the Flower Girl, made in 1972 to the Marathon Runner, from 2002, based around the real story of Jong Song-ok the athletics champion. They’re propaganda pieces, but important for understanding history nonetheless, says Fowler.

Cinema is very popular with North Koreans. Pyongyang boasts what’s thought to be the world’s first “rhythmic” 4D cinema, situated in the Runga People’s Pleasure Ground, it received thousands of visitors after a state visit from Kim Jong-un, though photos indicate that it is mostly enjoyed by the elite.

The capital also has its own film festival, whose stated purpose is to: “promote exchange and cooperation between world filmmakers”, partly organised by Koryo Tours it’s the focus for a tourist package to the country. The 2012 festival was deemed important enough by the UK Foreign Office to spend £287.33 on a special screening of Sherlock.

But of course not all films, or festivals, that cover North Korea do so in such a favourable light. The Hong Kong NK Human Rights Film Festival, now in its second year, is organised by North Korean Defectors Concern and Amnesty International to address human rights abuses and the plight of defectors.

The challenge

With the aforementioned film festivals coming up we want to ask: what is the film about North Korea you’d most like to see?

Imagine a scenario where money is no object, nor is access to the country. What would it be called? Who would it star and where would it be set?

Would you address human rights? Or take a more mythical direction? Would it be shown by the government? Or best at a film festival outside the country?

Get creative and tell us about your hermit kingdom film through art. Extra points will be given for those that describe a basic plot and any other special details.

The rules

For your entry to be considered it must be all your own work. Do not use, in full or in part, any photos or other material that you don’t own the copyright for, or we won’t be able to accept it.

Submit your design on GuardianWitness (using one of the big blue ‘Contribute to this article’ links) no later than Sunday 30 September, and we’ll use the best on the North Korea network.

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