iBerkshires
19-10-06, 02:37
- October 19, 2006
Williams College will present a series of events with documentary filmmaker Petr Lom on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 23 and 24.
The first in the series, the documentary "Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan," will be shown on Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Lawrence Hall, room 231. On Oct. 24, Lom will lecture on "Documentary Film as a Weapon in the Struggle for Human Rights" at 2:45 p.m. in Weston Hall, room 10. Later that day, at 7:30 p.m., he will present a sneak preview of a work in progress, "The Tightrope: A film about the Uighurs of Xinjiang" in Lawrence 231.
"Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan" is the first film to document the ancient marriage tradition of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet Republic in Central Asia. Lom has said that although he originally intended to research Islamic extremism in Kyrgyzstan, he soon realized the need to reveal the pervasiveness of kidnapping within Kyrgyz culture, despite its having been illegal since 1994.
"Many people will not recognize the extent of the practice, how common it is," Lom said. Directly tied to poverty, bride kidnapping is both a "rural phenomenon," as well as a testament to the importance of family and marriage to women's roles and identities.
Westerners will be hard pressed to understand the "'kidnapping season,' which occurs mainly after the harvest in the fall," a time when abductors can most afford to pay the dowry, which is usually a third lower than it is normally. This film questions the nature of love and marriage, and how it differs across cultures.
Lom's newest documentary, "The Tightrope," follows the daily lives of several Uighurian orphans in their quest to learn to tightrope walk, or Dawaz, an ancient Uighur tradition, while attending public school outside the orphanage.
Uighurs make up the largest Muslim minority in China and live in the Xinjiang province in the northwestern corner of the country. According to Lom, "China recognizes that Islam is central to Uighur identity. Controlling religion is thus a central way towards Uighur assimilation."
"The film," he said, "shows the difficult balancing act they make in trying to navigate between these worlds: a world where traditionally, and at home, virtually all Uighurs are Muslims, and yet where at school and in public, they must profess to be good atheist Communists." In this respect, tightrope walking serves as a metaphor for this balancing act.
"The Tightrope," in its entirety, is soon to be premiered at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA).
Lom earned his Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University.
The events are free and open to the public, and are sponsored by the Gaudino Fund and the International Studies Program.
http://iberkshires.com/story.php?story_id=21296
Williams College will present a series of events with documentary filmmaker Petr Lom on Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 23 and 24.
The first in the series, the documentary "Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan," will be shown on Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at Lawrence Hall, room 231. On Oct. 24, Lom will lecture on "Documentary Film as a Weapon in the Struggle for Human Rights" at 2:45 p.m. in Weston Hall, room 10. Later that day, at 7:30 p.m., he will present a sneak preview of a work in progress, "The Tightrope: A film about the Uighurs of Xinjiang" in Lawrence 231.
"Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan" is the first film to document the ancient marriage tradition of bride kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet Republic in Central Asia. Lom has said that although he originally intended to research Islamic extremism in Kyrgyzstan, he soon realized the need to reveal the pervasiveness of kidnapping within Kyrgyz culture, despite its having been illegal since 1994.
"Many people will not recognize the extent of the practice, how common it is," Lom said. Directly tied to poverty, bride kidnapping is both a "rural phenomenon," as well as a testament to the importance of family and marriage to women's roles and identities.
Westerners will be hard pressed to understand the "'kidnapping season,' which occurs mainly after the harvest in the fall," a time when abductors can most afford to pay the dowry, which is usually a third lower than it is normally. This film questions the nature of love and marriage, and how it differs across cultures.
Lom's newest documentary, "The Tightrope," follows the daily lives of several Uighurian orphans in their quest to learn to tightrope walk, or Dawaz, an ancient Uighur tradition, while attending public school outside the orphanage.
Uighurs make up the largest Muslim minority in China and live in the Xinjiang province in the northwestern corner of the country. According to Lom, "China recognizes that Islam is central to Uighur identity. Controlling religion is thus a central way towards Uighur assimilation."
"The film," he said, "shows the difficult balancing act they make in trying to navigate between these worlds: a world where traditionally, and at home, virtually all Uighurs are Muslims, and yet where at school and in public, they must profess to be good atheist Communists." In this respect, tightrope walking serves as a metaphor for this balancing act.
"The Tightrope," in its entirety, is soon to be premiered at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA).
Lom earned his Ph.D. in political philosophy from Harvard University.
The events are free and open to the public, and are sponsored by the Gaudino Fund and the International Studies Program.
http://iberkshires.com/story.php?story_id=21296