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The grandmothers of revolution

  • Genre: Documentary

  • Release Year: 2006

  • Duration: 96 minutes


  • Directed by: Petra Seliskar

  • Screenplay by: Brand Ferro, Petra Seliskar

  • Produced by: Brand Ferro, Petra Seliskar

The grandmothers of revolution
Synopsis:

Slovenian director Petra Seliskar investigates the role of ideology in her personal family history by means of interviews with her paternal grandfather, her Macedonian boyfriend Brand's maternal grandmother and his Cuban grandmother on his father's side. Illustrated by archive footage and home movies, her voice-over describes her family's personal story, Yugoslavia under Tito, and the recent war, accompanied by some particularly shocking footage. The nature shots and the alternation of classical, popular and revolutionary music occasionally lend the stories a light-hearted tone. After WWII, her grandfather was imprisoned for 12 years in the Slovenian prison camp Kocevje for his nationalist fight against the partisans. In spite of it all, he is not resentful. Brand's mother Ilinka tells about his uncle, also called Brand, who was shot by the police during a demonstration against the regime. At his funeral, his mother (Brand's grandmother) held a nationalist speech; since then, the day of his death has been a national holiday in Macedonia. Nowadays, this grandmother still supports the necessity of dictatorship and fear in order to rebuild a country. Her views parallel those of Brand's other grandmother, who lives in Cuba and defends the one-party system there.

Director Information:

Petra Seliskar

Biography:

Petra Seliskar is a young Slovenian filmmaker. Her documentary "The Grandmothers of Revolution" has been screened at a variety of film festivals and was the recipient of several awards, including:
IDFA - Amsterdam 2006 (In Joris Ivens competition)
Trieste Film Festival 2007 - Italy
Zagrebdox 2007 - Croatia, BEST YOUNG FILMMAKER - DOCUMENTARY
Documentary Film Festival Ljubljana 2007 - Slovenia
Asterfest 2007 – Macedonia - GRAN-PRIX
Sarajevo Film Festival 2007 – Bosnia and Hercegovina (August 2007)
DokuFest – Prizren, Kosova (August 2007)

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