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CPH:DOX 2021 F:Act Award

EXCLUSIF : la bande-annonce de The Other Side of the River, sélectionné à CPH:DOX

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- Ce premier long-métrage documentaire par la réalisatrice allemande Antonia Kilian concourra pour le F:Act Award à la prochaine édition de CPH:DOX

EXCLUSIF : la bande-annonce de The Other Side of the River, sélectionné à CPH:DOX
The Other Side of the River d'Antonia Kilian (© Antonia Kilian)

Cet article est disponible en anglais.

Crossing the Euphrates river is the way that 19-year-old Hala managed to escape an arranged marriage, and her new home is a Kurdish Women’s Protection Unit – which soon after liberates her hometown of Minbij from Islamic State. The enemy for her fellow female soldiers is not just IS, but the patriarchy in general, with the ideal of marriage being the ultimate oppressive institution. The brutalities that these young women have experienced at the hands of their husbands and within their own families lead them to the other side of the river, where they are trained in combat and educated in the feminist ideals of the Kurdish Women’s Movement. Inspired by these teachings and dedicated to the promise of freeing more women but also liberating her sisters, could Hala’s all-consuming mission leave her space for freedom and even love?

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The determined revolutionary path of Hala in an environment where the term “militant feminism” could be understood quite literally is presented by German director, cinematographer, artist and producer Antonia Kilian in her debut feature-length documentary, The Other Side of the River [+lire aussi :
bande-annonce
interview : Antonia Kilian
fiche film
]
, which is set to world-premiere at the upcoming CPH:DOX (21 April–12 May) and is in the running for the F:ACT Award. Ahead of the premiere, Kilian commented on her own feminist motivation for making the movie: “I went to north-east Syria because I wanted to know more about the Kurdish Women’s Movement first hand. And not only out of a political, theoretical or journalistic interest, but also out of a deep personal conviction. Being a feminist myself, it was important for me to acknowledge my position, to reflect on it, on my own feminism and what activism means in this context. How can women organise autonomously to be empowered and somehow build an alternative to patriarchal society? I was quite convinced in theory that this was happening in Rojava in a very impressive way. I still find the militant determination behind the women’s movement there quite remarkable in its own way. Not only in a military sense, but also in the very consequential, self-understood way in which it is enforced.”

The making of and completion of The Other Side of the River was an “absolute collaboration on many levels”: Kurdish-Syrian filmmaker Sevinaz Evdike headed up the production management, while Iranian-born journalist, director and editor Arash Asadi became a co-author and editor of the film. Also, Berlin-based Kurdish-Syrian filmmaker Guevara Namer travelled to Syria with Kilian on a second trip for more filming with Hala, and became a co-author and producer of the film. The original music was composed and recorded by German-Syrian live act Shkoon, comprising Syrian Ameen Khayer along with producer Thorben Diekmann.

The Other Side of the River was produced by Frank Müller for Hamburg-based Doppelplusultra Filmproduktion and Kilian’s company, Pink Shadow Films, in co-production with Merja Ritola, of Finland’s Greenlit Productions. The film is supported by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media (BKM), the Filmförderung Hamburg Schleswig-Holstein, HessenFilm, the Finnish Film Foundation, the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund and AVEK. It was made in cooperation with YLE. The film was developed within the context of EURODOC, Ex Oriente Film, IDFA Summer School, IDFA Project Space and Baltic Sea Forum, and was completed with the support of the Women Make Movies Production Assistance Program. Toronto-based sales agent Syndicado Film Sales holds the worldwide rights.

Check out our exclusive trailer below:

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(Traduit de l'anglais)

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