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Would You Look at Her: Short Film Compilation

Directed by Various

Part of: New East Cinema

Coming directly from this year’s festival circuit, our selection of New East Cinema’s shorts tracks the ways women’s lives have been affected by the often hidden workings of state ideologies. Selection includes Sundance’s best International Short: Would you Look at Her.

In the New East states today, prejudices of gender roles are still vital, both in society and the government. In those states, ‘would you look at her’ is a sentence uttered regularly. It is a disapproving sigh against female behaviour that somewhat contradicts societal expectations.

With this programme, we delve into the worlds of women who refuse to be framed with such prejudice. From arranged marriages to centuries-old patriarchal traditions, and the oppression of female desire.


Would You Look At Her
Dir Goran Stoevski/MK 2017/19 mins
In the way she carries herself, 18-year-old Aneta barely differs from the boys. Because of this and an uncomfortable cell phone recording doing the rounds, she and her only friend are mocked as ‘lesbians’. Meanwhile, her family faces money troubles that force her to take on roles that will lead to further bullying.

Seide
Dir Elnura Osmonalieva/KZ 2015/13 mins
Young Seide lives in a secluded Kyrgyz village with her family and her horse, her closest companion, before her parents announces that they have arranged a marriage for her. The impending marriage casts another terror – Seide’s family decides to kill her horse as part of a traditional wedding celebration.

Eight Images From The Life of Nastya Sokolova
Dirs Alina Kotova, Vladlena Sandu/RU 2018/30 mins
One of the many overqualified Russian graduates who struggle to find a job after studying, Nastya is a qualified journalist who dreams of becoming an actress. With the surreal use of eight static shots, this unusual documentary is simultaneously an intimate window into a young woman’s world, and a symptomatic portrait of a whole generation.

Kalendar
Dir Igor Poplauchin/RU 2018/28 mins
Trapped in the normalcy of her everyday life, a middle aged woman temporarily escapes her ordinary life and embarks on a secret journey. Lying to her family, she covers her traces until she reaches her final destination – the centre of a woman’s innermost desires.

Film information

Duration:
90 minutes

Languages:
Kirghiz, Macedonian and Russian

Subtitles:
Full English

Year of production:
2015-2017

This screening has no adverts or trailers and starts at the advertised time