Eastern Women – special programme

A selection of short films from Central and Eastern Europe presenting the contemporary image of femineity in this part of the world.

Paradoxically, in former Eastern bloc countries, where gender equality was always talked about loud, women hardly ever stood behind the camera. Nowadays, we have a larger number of female film directors in this part of Europe, and also a profusion of heroines who are looked at not just from a male perspective. These women are young and old, strong and sensitive, daydreaming and down-to-earth. We enter their worlds of motherhood, sisterhood and sacrifice, but also jealousy and rivalry.

These are just a few topics of the selected films, undermining established social perceptions and dissecting myths about womankind. Are these problems universal or just local? The stories and places in which they are embedded constitute a natural background for portraying women as full-fledged heroines. “Something Blue” is about jealousy and revenge. Animated “Birth” comes to grips with teenage pregnancy and motherhood. In “Trains” a 45-year-old mother will do anything to make her child happy. “Strongwoman”, a bodybuilding goddess, goes far beyond the stereotype of femininity. Katia in “Just the Way It Is …” takes us on the Trans-Siberian Railway journey, giving a lesson of life and decision-making. The heroine of “Snow” waits for her prince charming but eventually destroys the illusion she used to live in and undergoes transition.

Programme in collaboration with CinEast – Central and Eastern European Film Festival in Luxembourg – www.cineastu.lu

W programie:

1. Siłaczka / The Strongwoman, Aleksander Pawluczuk, 2012, 7, PL
2. Coś niebieskiego / Something Blue, Virág Zomborácz , 2011, 15′, HU
3. Narodziny / Birth, Signe Baumane, 2009, 12′, USA/LT
4. Trains, Pavel G. Vesnakov, 2011, 17′, BG
5. Just the way it is, Bernadett Tuza Ritter, 2013, 13′, RU
6. Snieg / Snow, Ivana Šebestová, 2013′, 18′, SK