This is what it's all about.
For me, as a Swiss citizen born in Kyrgyzstan, it is a great honour to be part of an international team as a producer of the film project. The production of this social-dramatic film is close to my heart. It should break down the mental and ideological barriers between the countries of the West and the East because it contains universal human values. An important message of the film will be the dilemma of the film’s protagonists, who want to choose their place in life in the conservative Kyrgyz society. The final production agreements between the four parties (Kyrgyzstan, Switzerland, Germany and Serbia) for the realisation of the film «Kurak» took place on 20 May this year in France at the Cannes Film Festival. Our feature film «Kurak» (Scraps) tells the stories of three women - all three based on true facts: A girl who secretly works as a webcam model and becomes the victim of a blackmailer. A curator who triggers a major scandal with an exhibition. A woman whose daughter commits suicide after being raped by the son of a powerful politician. Three women’s fates intertwine in the deeply patriarchal society of today’s Kyrgyzstan. Three stories that unfortunately occur all over the world. In a society where bride kidnapping, discrimination against women and male claims to power are the order of the day, these three examples have a tragic
Motivation
There has not yet been a feature film that portrays the position of women in Kyrgyz society in an unembellished way. A society that is characterised less by Muslim religious principles than by male chauvinism. «Kurak» is intense and realistic, in the style of a documentary film, with the inclusion of real television footage. With «Kurak», the film producers want to show the true side of the intolerant and hypocritical reality and are taking a dangerous risk doing so. The film is shot in winter in the capital Bishkek - at locations where the real events took place. With the film «Kurak» we want to give Kyrgyz women a voice, because their status is still low despite state propaganda.
Why your support counts and is extremely important
With this film, we want to inspire Kyrgyz women to stand up for their own human rights. We want to offer the film worldwide to stimulate discussions on this topic. The Department of Cinematography of the Kyrgyz Republic and the Cultural Promotion of the Canton of Lucerne have already pledged their support, and other sponsors are in discussion. However, this is not enough to start filming. The more funds we raise, the more professionally we can market the film and the better its message can be carried around the world. Support is needed for the following areas:
- Translation of the script into the national languages of Switzerland, English and other official UN languages;
- Securing copyrights; Fees for design and music (all in Kyrgyz);
- Researching information and archive material, analysing television reports, newsreels, videos of witnesses, etc;
- Props Shooting dates - January - March 2024. The film is expected to be completed in the cource of 2024.
