BLACKPINK: Light Up the Sky

A music documentary. The subject is a South Korean group of four. The documentary covers the time from their selection to a world tour. The first part is the training. The company chooses people as children out of thousands of applicants; those chosen work for years under a residential regime. The daily schedule is dance, singing, language classes and assessment; there is a test every month and whoever fails is sent home. All four talk about it. One came from Thailand and did not speak the language; one from New Zealand, one from Australia. They were away from their families for years. The second part is after the debut. The group becomes a large success and the schedule tightens: recording, filming, promotion, touring. The most striking passage is about loneliness. All four say the same thing: on stage there is a crowd, afterwards the room is silent, and it cannot be shared with anyone. What the narrative is interested in is not success but the system: the film shows from inside how the Korean music industry works, and does it by describing rather than criticising. Archive recordings, rehearsal footage and separate conversations with each of the four are used together. Caroline Suh directed. Who it is for: anyone who listens to the group and is curious about the Korean music industry. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a critical view; it was made with the company's approval and the hard questions are not asked.