MINELRES: 2003 ASN World Convention: Film Lineup

[MINELRES moderator]

Original sender: Dominique Arel <dominique_arel@Brown.edu>


FILM LINEUP OF THE 2003 ASN WORLD CONVENTION

***For the complete preliminary program, registration form and general
information on the convention, please consult our web site at
www.nationalities.org***

The ASN World Convention, the world's largest scholarly gathering on
identities and nation-building in East Central Europe, the Balkans,
former Soviet Union, and Eurasia, will be screening recent documentaries
and feature films, in addition to its large selection of panels. The
Convention runs 3-5 April 2003 at Columbia University, sponsored by the
Harriman Institute. Each screening will be followed by discussion.

The 2003 selection of documentaries includes the
internationally-acclaimed CHILDREN UNDERGROUND (US, 2000), on runaway
children in Romania, winner of the Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury
Prize in 2001; RETURNING HOME; REVIVAL OF A BOSNIAN VILLAGE (Bosnia
Herzegovina, 2001), by Norwegian anthropologist Tone Bringe, and Peter
Loizos, on the return of Croat refugees to a previously mixed village,
the sequel of Bringe's 1993 documentary We Are All Neighbours; GREETINGS
FROM GROZNY (UK, 2002), following a detachment of special Russian forces
and a unit of rebel Wahabite fighters; THE DAMNED AND THE SACRED
(Netherlands, 2002), on the contrast between a Chechen traditional youth
dance group touring Europe and the reality back home, from Dutch
director Jos dePutter, whose previous film The Making of a New Empire
screened at ASN 2000; KILLING THE STORY (UK, 2002), a BBC investigation
on the murder of a leading journal, the tape scandal, and allegations of
sanctions breaking in Ukraine; SOLDAT (UK 2001), a riveting portrayal of
conscripts in the Russian army; HOPING FOR PEACE (Georgia/Abkhazia
region, 2002), a joint report from journalists in Georgia and Abkhazia
on the Gali region in Abkhazia, mostly populated by ethnic Georgians,
and running along the ceasefire line; and SHTO NOVOVO, AN ELEGY FOR THE
UNION (US 2003), on industrial depression, corruption, and Russian
outmigration in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan (the screening will be preceded
by the short WOMEN, WATER AND SOCIAL CHANGES: LESSONS FROM CENTRAL
ASIA). The convention will also screen the feature films THE WAR
(VOINA)(Russia, 2002), a brazen fictional account of a rescuing
operation in Chechnya, the latest Russian film of young actor Sergei
Bodrov Jr.; and FORTRESS EUROPE (Slovenia, 2000), on immigrants from the
East trying to smuggle their way to "Europe".  A few more films will be
added to the lineup before the convention.

Dominique Arel (darel@brown.edu)
Film/Video Section Chair
CHILDREN UNDERGROUND
US 2000 (1h45 mins.)
Directed by Edet Belzberg
Contact: <belfilms@aol.com>
In Romanian with English subtitles
Venturing below the streets of Bucharest, Romania to the infamous Piata
Victoriei subway station, filmmaker Edet Belzberg introduces us to five
members of a "family" of orphaned, abandoned, and runaway children
living there. The children beg and steal to buy food and Aurolac, which
they sniff to get high. In this striking cinema verite documentary,
Belzberg reflects on the difficult problem of youth homelessness at the
beginning of a new millennium, where children with highly developed
skills of survival are addicted to life on the street. Winner of the
2001 Sundance Special Jury Prize for Documentary.

RETURNING HOME: REVIVAL OF A BOSNIAN VILLAGE
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2001 (48 mins.)
Directed by Tone Bringa and Peter Loizos
Contact: <Tone.Bringa@cmi.no>
In Croatian and Bosniak with English subtitles

Filmed between 1999 and 2001, "Returning Home" documents the return of
the internally displaced Muslims or Bosniaks to their homes seven years
after being expelled from an ethnically mixed (Bosniak/Croat) village in
central Bosnia. "Returning Home" is a sequel to "We are all Neighbours"
produced in 1993 by Granada Television in co-operation with Tone Bringa.
The earlier film chronicles the gradual breakdown in personal
relationship between Muslims and Croats as war approaches the village of
"Dolina". Following some of the same families featured in the 1993 film,
this film highlights the decisive role of the international community in
facilitating returns to this village by guaranteeing the returnees'
security and providing economic means for house reconstruction. Above
all, however, it talks to steely determination of the displaced
villagers to rebuild their pre-war lives, and their surprisingly
sympathetic attitude toward  Croat refugees living in their homes.

GREETINGS FROM GROZNY
UK 2003 (52 mins.)
Directed by Paul Mitchell and Tatiana Rakhmanova
Contact: Andy Halper <Halper@thirteen.org>
In Russian and Chechen with English subtitles

For three weeks in May 2002, Paul Mitchell filmed in and around
Chechnya. He followed a detachment of special Russian forces and a unit
of rebel Wahabite fighters. The director and his crew, who also lived
with Chechen refugees in Grozny and the surrounding villages, give us a
moving glimpse of the life of civilians ruined by the war. They take us
to the valley of Pankisi on the border between Chechnya and Georgia, a
zone that, according to Russian and American secret services, could well
serve as a new based for radical Islamists linked to Al Quaeda. The
documentary posits the viewpoints of Russian forces about "cleansing
operations" - described as simple identity checks - against those of the
civilian Chechen population, often the main victims of these raids.
Operations that, according the human rights groups, constantly violate
the most basic rights.

THE DAMNED AND THE SACRED (DANS, GROZNY DANS)
The Netherlands 2002 (76 mins.), English subtitles
Directed by Jos de Putter
Contact: Frank van den Engel <zeppers@xs4all.nl>
In Dutch, Russian and Chechen with English subtitles
After The Making of a New Empire, which screened at ASN 2000, director
Jos de Putter again focuses his attention on Chechnya, with an
attractive portrait of a traditional youth dance group. They go on a
tour of Europe; the contrast between the destroyed buildings in the
Chechen capital Grozny and the concert halls of Europe is gigantic. The
dancing teacher impresses on the youngsters that they have to show the
Europeans that Chechens are normal people, not terrorists, and that
therefore they have to do their utmost. De Putter continuously switches
between here and there; the two worlds are bridged by endless bus trips
and melancholic music. The alternation makes clear that these children
carry their ravaged country with them everywhere they go.

KILLING THE STORY
UK 2002 (55 mins.)
Produced by Ewa Ewart (BBC, UK)
Contact: <eva.ewart@bbc.co.uk>
What links the murder of a leading journalist, the President of the
Ukraine, a shy young bodyguard and allegations of international arms
smuggling and sanctions breaking?  In a documentary prepared for the BBC
investigative series Correspondent, reporter Tom Mangold unravels the
threads that hold together an extraordinary mystery story involving
conspiracies at the highest level, secret tape recordings, beatings by
government goon squads and a moving target, running for his life with a
six million dollar price on his head.

SOLDAT
UK 2001 (77 mins.).
Directed by Paul Jenkins
Contact: Daniel Wolf <daniel@firstcirclefilms.co.uk>
In Russian with English subtitles
The Russian Army, up close and personal, the first time a foreign
television production has been allowed extensive and long-term access.
The film follows conscripts drafted as a cheap alternative to the
professional army Russia can no longer afford. For two years, recruits
are sucked into a highly ritualized and hierarchical system of barrack
room hazing, brutality and humiliation called dedovshchina ("the rule of
the grandfathers"). They emerge fundamentally changed. Junior and senior
officers are seen struggling against seemingly endless woe in an army
starved of basic resources. Though most maintain a grim humour, the
results are shocking and sad.

HOPING FOR PEACE
Georgia/Abkhazia region 2002 (35 mins.)
Directed and produced by Svetlana Korsaia (Abkhaz State Television),
Mamuka Kuparadze (Studio Re), Mikheil Mirziashvili (Studio Re), in
collaboration with the London-based NGO Conciliation Resources.
Contact: Rachel Clogg <rclogg@c-r.org>
A unique collaboration between Abkhaz and Georgian journalists. Made in
2002 this is the first joint documentary film in the decade since a
ceasefire brought to an end the Georgian-Abkhaz war of 1992-93.
Exploring the lives of people in the Gal/i region on the front line
between the conflicting parties, this thirty minute film grapples with
key challenges in the faltering peace process. Working together on all
aspects of the production the four journalists together visited Gal/i,
Sukhum/i and Tbilisi.

SHTO NOBOVO, AN ELEGY FOR THE UNION
US 2003 (52 mins.)
Directed by George FitzHerbert (Harvard U, US)
<fitzherb@fas.harvard.edu>
In Russian, Kyrgyz and Uzbek with English subtitles

An evocative portrait of transition in post-Soviet Kyrgyzstan. While
illustrating the traditional pastoral life of the Kyrgyz, the film
addresses issues of industrial depression, corruption, and the
outmigration of the Russian population since the Soviet collapse, and
gives voice to the nostalgia with which many remember the Soviet era.

preceded by
WOMEN, WATER AND SOCIAL CHANGE: LESSONS FROM CENTRAL ASIA
US 2003 (20 mins.)
Directed by Billur Gungoren (Columbia U, US)
<bggr@elcat.kg>
An exploration of gender differences in the water sector drawing lessons
from a community water management project implemented in six villages in
Central Asia between 1998 and 2001.  Common myths on women's roles and
abilities in water management, specific aspects of gender inequalities
during the transformation period, and an innovative social change
process are described.

THE WAR (VOINA)
Russia 2002 (1h55 mins.)
Directed by Alexei Balabanov
Contact: <intercin@edunet.ru>
In Russian
Overshadowed by events in the Middle East and Afghanistan, the war in
Chechnya goes on and on, the Chechens taking hostages and detonating
bombs in southern Russia and the Russian army repressing the rebellion
with scorched earth brutality. In Alexei Balabanov's controversial
slice-of-war, two Russian soldiers and two touring British actors are
taken captive by the Chechen rebels. John, one of the two young Britons,
is sent home to fetch 4 million pounds as ransom for his fianc�e. Back
in England, the authorities don't want to hear anything about it, but
the actor finally manages to find the required sum and he and a fellow
ex-hostage Vanya revisit Chechnya in a blaze of disorganized, vicious
revenge. Twenty-year old lead actor Aleksei Chadov was voted Best Actor
at the 2002 Montreal World Film Festival.

FORTRESS EUROPA (TRNDJAVA EVROPA)
Slovenia 2000 (80 mins.).
Directed by Zelimir Zilnik
Contact: Alenka Sfiligoj <toni.trsar@siol.net>
In several languages, English subtitles.

Artyom and his daughter Katya try to smuggle their way into Italy to
join Artyom's wife Sveta, who had emigrated to Italy a long time before
and found a job with the last remaining coachman of Trieste. Artyom,
Katya and a group of other refugees are however arrested, first by the
Slovenian and then by the Italian police. The refugees are confronted
with all kinds of procedures at police headquarters and then moved to a
centre for illegal immigrants, awaiting deportation, the heavily guarded
"Fortress Europe." Zelimir Zilnik became internationally known in the
Sixties for his visually expressive and critical films.