Her famed documentary "Dear Pyongyang" picked up the Jury Special award at the World Cinema section for documentaries at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and the NETPAC Award at the 56th Berlin International Film Festival. She based it on her dual identity and the difficult relationship with her father. Yang's father was an influential member of the GAKR (General Association of Korean Residents in Japan, or "Chongryon") -- a controversial organization in Tokyo that ostensibly helps North Koreans in Japan with travel or legal problems, or acts as a pipeline between North Korea and their families in the archipelago. She and her father had passionate political arguments over the years.