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Gender Montage: Paradigms in Post-Soviet SpaceFilm Series from the Network Women's Program of the Open Society Institute-Russia and the Gender Policy Institute. All video films will run in Humanities Bldg., Room 150, University of Colorado at Boulder, March 12th and 13th, 2004. Each film will be introduced by Elena Stishova, senior editor at Iskusstvo kino (The Art of Film) and adjunct professor at the State Institute of Cinematography, Moscow. The event is free and open to the public.
It is our great pleasure to introduce this series of documentary films. It is the result of a unique three-year project, "Mass Media Gender Policy", created by an international community of Soros foundations women's programs in 12 countries and managed jointly by two offices in Russia and Kazakhstan. The project was conceived in recognition of the fact that there are few sources in the mass media that look critically at the impact of socioeconomic and political forces which shape patterns of gender in the post soviet era. We are pleased to have supported this series which brings many important and often invisible issues to public attention. The challenge was to create films that not only have the ability to educate broad audiences on the issues and experiences of women in the post-transition period, but that are also engaging, reflective and artistic. The publication, which is an integral part of the project, provides analytical background on media and gender in each country. In order to fulfill this vision, we realized that we would need to bring together experts from several professional sectors. Each country established a team consisting of film directors and producers, journalists, gender studies experts, human rights activists and media specialists to create the films and analytical materials. These multisectoral teams worked together to come up with ideas and themes for the Sims, which in most cases address a controversial or less obvious issue. For example, the team from Azerbaijan came up with the idea for their film. Wishing for Seven Sons and One Daughter, by critiquing "gender jokes" in their country. These jokes expose boy-preferences in families and reflect cultural stigma around girl-child births. Although the problem of boy-preferences in families is well documented in other countries (such as China and India), the film brings visibility to the situation in Azerbaijan for the first time. In a screening of this film at the Association for Women's Rights in Development's 9th International Forum, a participant from Nigeria commented that they also have stigma associated with girl-child births, and hoped to screen the film in their country to open a dialogue around the issue. We hope that this film, and others, will continue to spawn these important discussions and bring international visibility to these universal human rights themes. Because of the current political situation in Uzbekistan and the controversial nature of the film. Hack Workers has limited broadcasting possibilities in the country. It will continue to be shown abroad, however. This film confronts the impoverished conditions of female "day workers" who experience social stigma, exploitative labor conditions, harassment and even rape by their temporary employers. Women who are driven to take up this sort of work (usually involving house cleaning, construction work, or other manual labor) do so because of lack of other possibilities to support themselves and their families. As a result of their illegal status, due to lack of residency in the area of their job, "propiska", and illiteracy, the "day workers" can neither go to the police for help, nor go to the courts for recourse. These women are thus stigmatized by society, unprotected by law, and are subject to abuse by clients, former male relatives and representatives of power. We thank and acknowledge all the teams for their courage in illuminating these sensitive issues, which bring their countries under scrutiny—both nationally and internationally. Although the films often paint a bleak picture of the situation of women in the region, the film from Kyrgyzstan, Red Butterflies Where Two Springs Merge, for example, offers an affirming portrayal of an older woman who managed to succeed as an entrepreneur making traditional Kyrgyz rugs, becoming a leader and creator of economic opportunities in her community, and who ultimately receives international attention for her artistic work. This film allows for hope that the so called "clash" of modernity and tradition are not always detrimental and that positive change is possible. Many of the films have been shown and received well in the region and beyond. The Estonian and Azeri films have received "Best Documentary of the Year" awards in their respective countries. Films from the collection have been shown in 11 festivals, conferences and other international events, and 5 films are being broadcast on national channels. The film series comes out at a particularly critical time. As regional stability continues to be at risk, particularly in Central Asia and the Caucasus, we hope that the films will bring better visibility to a region that is often overlooked by global institutions and the media. The films bring audiences a better understanding of the countries and gender issues there from the perspective of individuals from the region. The message is clear: real change should come from within the region and cannot be imposed from the outside. This collection of films is a testimony to this approach. The social (in this case, gender) orientation of a given project should not hide its aesthetic dimension. The nine films of the collection do more than just give us an idea of the condition of women in post-Soviet countries and, incidentally, the work of journalists and directors of documentary films. They also constitute a unique panorama of contemporary documentary film discourse between the Baltic Sea and the Mongol steppes and the turns taken by the cinematic tradition (both Soviet and local) in a troubled world. The most surprising Film - the daring, sarcastic and anarchistic (in the best sense of the word) Beauty of the Fatherland - comes from Estonia. Jaak Kilmi andAndres Maimik achieved nearly the impossible by making a full-length documentary pamphlet. In our time, only the American director Michael Moore has succeeded in mastering this genre. Kilmi and Maimik avoid direct commentary in their film. Its paradoxical message arises from the intersection of two seemingly neutral visual sequences or parallel women's portraits: that of a belligerent nationalist whose goal is to train girls to be both housewives and snipers and an elegant former model who holds children's beauty contests with a subtle pedophilic slant. The directors'intent gaze, and the fact [hat everything the main characters do and say ultimately serves to discredit them, make them seem by the film's end to be two heads of a dragon which tries to mangle Estonian girls by making them conform to traditional male stereotypes. If Beauty of the Fatherland, standing in the tradition of international militant political documentaries of the 1960s (we can cite the names of Fred Wiseman and Luc Moullet in this regard), resembles a la wiess comet in the post-Soviet sky, many of the other films have a different background that is more typical of the world view of each country's respective cinematic tradition. Monika Juozapaviciute 's Tomorrow Will Be Better? is a perfect example of "Baltic" cinema both in its restrained and unassuming color spectrum (the colors of the Baltic sea and freshly tilled earth) and the patience with which it scrutinizes women's faces and gives them the chance to speak out. The women try to find their bearings in the chaos of life, and the camera follows [hem without hurrying, yet never lags behind. Another world view is present in Nina Rudik and Vlad Gello's folk-like and ornate film Power: Feminine Gender. Its authors take a (seemingly) ingenuous look at Ukrainian politics, which they present as a popular Carnival of sorts. The participants are sharp-witted women, who understand well the impact of women's contributions to society, and haughty male politicians, complacent and narrow-minded. The folk element is also strong in Gaukhar Sydykova and Diliya Ruzieva's Red Butterflies Where Two Springs Merge. Not only is its main character a traditional Kyrgyz felt carpet maker, but a wise woman who doesn 't let anyone order her about. She seems to come from a film of the Central Asian "Nouvelle Vogue" of the 1960s, where she would have been the protagonist's grandmother, who nostalgically and scrupulously recalls the world of her childhood on screen. She would probably have appeared "unrealistic" in a fiction film; a harmonious individual is always suspected of not being authentic. Yet here she is on screen, real and not invented. And the fact that the magazine File dedicated its feature story to this woman living in a small village near the Chinese border gives her less than glamorous life a surrealistic dimension. Naturally, the vigorous Soviet tradition has not disappeared, either: indeed, most of the film's directors and screenwriters were schooled in it. Silk Patterns by the Mongol director Uranchimeg Nansalmaa brings travel films to mind: steppes in which life has stayed the same for centuries, cities that have arisen amidst them, shepherds, truck drivers, students and even rock musicians, as well as streets filled with women wearing national costumes (delis) - everything resembles a model and comprehensive depiction of a sister country. Nevertheless, far from recounting the "leap from feudalism to socialism," the film brings to light unexpected and alarming gender issues, showing in the process that this Soviet genre, which has been nearly forgotten in Russia, is still viable. The same is true of Liana Dzhakeli's Invisible. The pretty and colorful scenes from the life of a large Georgian village populated exclusively by Azerbaijanis, whose work provides produce to the capital city of Tbilisi, are unable to mask the hard lives of women in this closed patriarchal society, which is very different from the Mongolian one yet no less repressive. It is easy to speak about the aesthetic dimension of films except when it is a question of life and death—direct testimonies become more valuable than meticulous cinematic composition and analysis. Wishing for Seven Sons and One Daughter, by Azerbaijani director Ali-Isa Dzhabbarov, portrays the killing of unwanted daughters; Hack Workers by the Uzbek director Furkatbek Yakvalkhodzhiev, depicts women who are expelled from their families and have no choice but to become hack workers with whom any scoundrel can do as he pleases; and Live Containers by the Tajik director Orzu Shapirov, unveils the stories of women who smuggled heroin in their own bodies. The most heart-rending of them is Hack Workers, a film that is laconic to the point of minimalism. It would be a bad joke to call it a "woman's portrait," for we do not get to see the victims'faces. Still, there is so much unbearable tension in their bowed backs and so much hopeless courage in the director's readiness to hear their terrible stories that Hack Workers could be called a "documentary horror film." The fact that such unexpected documentary films, from an Estonian satire to an Uzbek horror film, could be made in the framework of a gender project not only shows the latter's viability but also confirms the old truth that documentaries and movies, far from being incompatible, are integral parts of cinema—whose most important function is to capture the truth of its time on film. Mikhail Trofimenkov
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Tomorrow Will Be Better?Lithuania 2003 Monika Juozapaviciute Born in 1962 in Vilnius. From 1983 to 1986, performed at the Lithuanian Folk Theater. In 1991, graduated from the State Institute of Theater Arts in Moscow. Since 1992, works on television, where she directs the shows Noah's Ark, Nakvisa, and Stilius. Lives in Vilnius. Filmography (documentaries) The stories of four women from different sectors of society are woven together to make a collective portrait of the Lithuanian woman, who has had to adapt to radically new conditions since transition. An unemployed actress fights against depressions after losing her beloved work. A resilient saleswoman takes up any job from selling items purchased abroad to organizing a dating service. A woman farmer courageously tries to keep her farm afloat. A political scientist from Vilnius is apparently the only one who's had no trouble making the transition from being a part of the Soviet elite to being a part of the elite of an independent Lithuania. Return to schedule 
Invisible Georgia 2003 Liana Dzhakeli Born in 1951 in the village ofKazreti. Mended clothes at a knitting factory and worked as a draftsman and corrector at a research and development institute. Graduated from the Department of Philology of the Tbilisi State University. Worked as a philologist, writer and translator (mostly from Czech). Since 1986, editor at the Main Editorial Board for Artistic Relations and, subsequently, senior research fellow at the Center for Cultural Relations (Caucasian House). Since 1998, makes documentary videos about the women's movement and the condition of women in Georgia. Since 1999, Chairwoman of the NGO StudioMobile: Emphasis on Action, which deals with gender issues. Lives in Tbilisi. Filmography (short documentary films) This film, which borders on a sociological study and/or ethnographic report, focuses on the lives of women in such closed and patriarchal communities as Azerbaijani villages in Georgia. Women are "invisible" here. For example, you seldom see girls attend high school. Some have already been married of for abducted, others are engaged. It is considered improper for engaged girls to go to school. As to the outside world, it pays just as little attention to gender problems in Azerbaijani communities, as the latter is indifferent to the outside world. Return to schedule 
Silk Patterns Mongolia 2003 Uranchimeg Nansalmaa Born in 1956 in Ulhan-Bator. Graduated in 1980 from the Department of Script-writing of the Russian State Institute of Cinematography (Moscow) (workshop ofN.N. Figurovsky). From 1980 to 1984, worked as an education specialist at the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of Mongolia. From 1984 to 1990, head editor at the Mongolkino Studio. Since 1990, works as an independent script writer and director. Lives in Ulhan-Bator.
Filmography The film's leitmotif is the deli - the traditional women's costume that not only gives a distinctive color to everyday life in Mongolia but also tells something about the women wearing it by its color and the way it is fashioned. One of the most common types of deli today is that sewn for women college graduates. Eighty percent of students are women. It would seem that such a statistic would represent positive change for women. However, Urchanimeg Nansalmaa presents the accounts of people from all levels of Mongolian society to show its reverse side. After graduating from college, women have only two paths open to them: returning to the steppe, becoming housewives and marrying livestock farmers or truck drivers or, their diplomas notwithstanding, to earn their living as unskilled workers in Eastern Asian countries. Return to schedule 
Beauty of the FatherlandEstonia 2002 Jaak Kilmi Born in Tallinn in 1973. Graduated in 1998 from the Section of Audiovisual Arts of Tallinn Pedagogical University. Works at Rudolf Konimois Film. Author of more than 50 commercials. Received awards at the Festivals of Poitiers, Tartu, Anapa and others.
Filmography (in cooperation with A. Maimik in 2000 and 2001) Andres Maimik Born in 1970. Studied at the Tartu Arts School and the Estonian Humanities Institute. Graduated from the Section of Audiovisual Arts of Tallinn Pedagogical University. Worked as a journalist, editor, screenwriter (he wrote the screenplays for the TV series Pami Vikmana and Prizrak # 5) and copyrighter. Author of numerous commercials. Works as a director at Esto TV. In 1999 was named the best Film critic in Estonia. Filmography (in cooperation with J. Kilmi in 2000 and 2001) The film's main characters -Anne Eenpalu, creator of the girlscout troupe Daughters of Estonia, and ex-Miss Estonia Tiina Jantson, organizer of beauty contests for women and children - would seem to embody opposing values and viewpoints. Yet the film, which takes the rare form of a documentary satire, leads the viewer to make a different conclusion. Its main characters have more in common than it may first appear. They are brought together by their very conservative notions about the role of women in society. Return to schedule 
Power: Feminine GenderUkraine 2003 Nina Rudik Born in 1955. Graduated in 1978 from the Department of Cultural Work of the Kiev State Institute of Culture, where she majored in theatrical direction. Between 1979 and 1992, worked as a director of children's and youth programs at the State Television and Radio Company and between 1992 and 1994 as a director in the international private television and radio company ICTV. Since 1994, works in the Ukraine Educational Reform Program, a joint project of USAID and the Ukrainian Government, and as a principal director of television programs. The authors of this film, resembling a TV collage, assert that matriarchy is the natural form of social organization in the Ukraine, as women traditionally play a major role in villages, local government and business. Unfortunately, the political history of the second half of the nineties - especially, election campaigns - leads us to make a sad conclusion: "female" political projects are used by the ruling class for making a semblance of European-style democracy and only serve to banish women to the periphery of political life. Return to schedule 
Red Butterflies Where Two Springs Merge Kyrgyzstan 2002 Diliya Ruzieva Born in 1972 in Bishkek. Graduated in 1991 from the Department of Stunt Acting at the Studio of Battle Scenes and Stunts. Worked from 1989 to 1996 as a stunt woman at the Kyrgyzfilm, Tajikfilm, TurkmenFilm, Mosfilm, Kazakhfilm and Uzbek film Studios. She performed in more than 15 films, including leading roles in The Night of the Demon, Lea ve Me Alone, Legend, Takhir and Zukhra and Malanapes. Since 1996, works on television. Lives in Bishkek.
Filmography Gaukhar Sydykova Born in 1967 in the Issyk-Kul Region of Kyrgyzstan. Graduated from the Department of Sound Engineering at the Leningrad Institute of Film Engineers. Worked from 1988 to 1996 at the Kyrgyzfilm Studio. Sound engineer of more than 15 documentaries and the films Everything is Covered by Snow and Besh Kempir. Since 1996, works as a sound engineer at the ORDO Television and Radio Company. Lives in Bishkek.
Filmography A lyrical portrait of the 64-year-old Janyl Alibekova, who lives in the border mountain village of Achy-Kaindy. Janyl continues the age-old tradition of making felt carpets into which she creatively incorporates national motifs. She never relied on anyone, least of all on the government and modem industrial technologies. As history would have it, after the break-up of the Soviet Union and in a period of general economic decline, Janyl became famous in Europe, a star of the magazine Elle, and the director of her own workshop. Yet she didn't change her lifestyle or her independent anti-patriarchal views. Return to schedule 
Hack WorkersUzbekistan 2002 Furkatbek Yakvalkhodzhiev Born in 1962 in Tashkent. Graduated from the Department of Philology of Tashkent State University. From 1984 to 1987, worked as a high-school teacher and, from 1992 to 2000, as a reporter for Radio Liberty in Tashkent. Since 2002, producer at Intemews-Uzbekistan.
Filmography Thrown out of their homes by their husbands, separated from their children and forced (against all Uzbek customs) to earn their living, women find themselves in the hellish world of markets for women hack workers, unprotected by law and subject to violence, rape and murder. Return to schedule 
Live Containers Tajikistan 2002 Orzu Sharipov Born in 1956 in Dushanbe. Graduated from the Leningrad Institute of Theater, Music and Cinematography and the Department of the Direction of Non-Fiction Films of the All- State Courses for Screenwriters and Directors in Moscow. Worked as a teacher, administrator and cultural worker. His films have been shown at the Leipzig and Munich Film Festivals and received the grand prize at the Third International Eurasian Television Forum in Moscow (2000). Lives in Dushanbe.
Filmography (short documentary films) This report from a women's prison tells about a calamity that has recently appeared yet has already become widespread. Economic hardship and political chaos have led many Tajik women to become out of sheer necessity "live containers", smuggling heroin inside themselves. These women, who led ordinary lives yesterday, could not possibly be called criminals. The government recognizes this and occasionally amnesties those women who were caught with a relatively "small" (by Tajik standards) amount of drugs. Yet, despite their sincere repentance and their joy at being liberated, there is no guarantee that life will not make them go down this terrible path again. Return to schedule 
Wishing for Seven Sons and One DaughterAzerbaijan 2002 Ali-Isa Dzhabbarov Born in 1974 in Baku. Graduated in 1996 from the Department of Film Direction of the Azerbaijani State Institute for the Fine Arts. Since 1996, works as a film director at the Azerbaijani Television Film Association and collaborates with the Space Television and Radio Company and the 215 KL Independent Television Company. Lives in Baku. Filmography (documentary films) The traditional Azerbaijani wedding wish serves as the title to this film and appears to be just a flowery ritual formula. Yet the colorful ethnographic scenes reveal a tragedy that has lasted for ages. In this patriarchal society, girls are unwanted and "useless." In the past, new-born girls were often simply killed; yet, since the development of ultrasound, women have been compelled to seek abortions. Such an attitude towards women occasionally results in terrible family tragedies, one of which shook Azerbaijan a few years ago |
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