Film Screening: "Flowers of Freedom"

AVACGIS Film Series

Thursday, April 14, 2016 7:30 PM EDT
Johnson Center, Cinema

Film Screening followed by discussion with film director Mirjam Leuze, editor Sandra Brandl, and Erkingul Imankozhoeva.

‘Flowers of Freedom’ is a remarkable portrait of a rural social movement for environmental justice in revolutionary Kyrgyzstan.  Filmed over the course of four years, the documentary provides an intimate and subtle portrait of a group of women who struggle, against the odds, to have their claims heard by those in power.  Flowers of Freedom provides an insight into the slow, relentless work of seeking justice in contemporary Kyrgyzstan and the immense social and environmental legacies of the country’s reliance upon gold mining.  But it is also a story of friendship, solidarity and courage—one that provides a refreshingly nuanced portrayal of gender relations and village activism at a time of political upheaval.

Cut to include the film-makers' voice and presence, it unobtrusively lays bare the film-makers relationships and conditions of film production. ´Flowers of Freedom´ thus offers an exemplary point of departure for discussing the increasingly compelling need to reformulate power dynamics in media representation, as well as issues of authority in scholarly and journalistic practice.

Film Synopsis: Every day huge trucks thunder through the Kyrgyz village of Barskoon. They are carrying a dangerous freight: cyanide, which is used to extract gold at the nearby Kumtor goldmine. In 1998, one of the cyanide trucks crashes into the river that runs through the village. People die and hundreds of villagers fall ill. After seven years – in which the Kyrgyz government does nothing – a handful of courageous women begin to fight for the rights of the victims. Erkingul and her fellow campaigners found a small environmental organization, block the road leading to the mine and eventually manage to secure 3.7. million US dollars in compensation from the Kyrgyz-Canadian gold mine.

When a revolution topples the government of President Bakiev in 2010 the women are part of the protests. After the parliamentary elections in 2010, Erkingul manages to secure a seat in parliament and continues to lead the fight against the gold mine as a politician. Her friends stay behind in the village.

Over a span of four years cultural anthropologist and filmmaker Mirjam Leuze followed these women and describes not only their political commitment  and struggle for justice, but also how people manage to survive in a Kyrgyz village. A film about female solidarity and friendship, about courage and cyanide.

 

Held as part of International Week 2016