Translated material
May 32 is postponed
In St. Petersburg, the opening of the festival of documentary films on human rights is broken
In St. Petersburg, the opening of the festival of documentary films "May 32", dedicated to human rights, is torn, relevant for different countries.
The festival was supposed to open today with the show of Putin's Games - about corruption, offenses and environmental harm related to preparation for the Winter Olympics in Sochi. On the eve of the organizers and leadership of the Skorokhod site, where the shows were to be held, were called to the police station. They were demanded to present rental certificates for films, as well as evidence of the registration of the festival in the Ministry of Culture.
Today, representatives of the fire inspection came to the "Skorokhod". They stated that there are fire safety violations on the site, and before they are eliminated in the room, no measures cannot be carried out.
The festival has not once tried to prevent unknown unfriendly forces. Last year, for example, unexpected checks and other troubles fell on the Youth “I-theater”, which provided their site for the show of human rights tapes. True, the festival eventually took place, but the theater soon lost the premises, although maybe this is just a coincidence.
The organizers are still hoping to find a new site for shows during the day and still open the festival on Tuesday.
"On May 32, it was opened by Baron Munchausen:" In the normal year, three hundred and sixty -five days, six hours and three more seconds. This will confirm to you any astronomer. "Of the 6 pm, it rains all day-on February 29 times. On February 29. 3 more seconds remain ... And from these 3 seconds from time to time, very, very rarely, and the day is not marked in any calendars-on May 32," the creators of the human rights film festival explain.
They understand that the festival with his impudent subtitle “Documentaryism against TV” and with no less impudent stated topics may not believe - just as Munchhausen did not believe. “But sometimes they believe the heroes. As Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King believed. And then, having believed the heroes, people themselves become heroes and simply change the world. And neither international governments, nor transnational corporations, nor universal redness can interfere with them,” the organizers add.
At the festival, five documentary films should be presented, devoted to human rights problems that are relevant for different countries. Two out of five films talk about murders on the basis of hatred. One documentary - “Justice in Hungary” - steps through the process of the process over the Hungarian neo -Nazis, accused of the murders of the gypsies. According to the co -organizer of the festival Ksenia Vakhrusheva , the director has a difficult fate:
- There is an ambiguous assessment of the behavior of the authorities of Hungary, their reaction to what is happening was analyzed. In addition, director Esther Haidu is not only a filmmaker, but also a political activist who sought to show the Hungarian authorities as they are, so she had to leave the country after the film was shown.
The second picture, which is based on the story of the murder on the basis of hatred, is the "Road of Valentine." This is a film about the 15-year-old American teenager Larry King, shot by another teenager Brandon Mcynerny, who he liked and whom he asked for "his valentine." The 14-year-old killer received a life sentence, and such a sentence also causes ambiguous emotions from the viewer.
“A teenager-fascist kills a teenager-geya, and teachers in this school are divided: some on one side, others on the other,” says Maxim Ivantsov, co-organizer of the festival. - This is a typical history of bullying, which ends in death. But after all, the killer is only 14 years old, in the process he repents of his deed, he says that he revised his life and his views, but, despite this, he receives a life sentence. The possibility of such a sentence at the age of 14 is also a very difficult story.
“The main thing is that the film makes it possible to look at the girls from the other side, to find out what was happening around this process and around themselves,” says Ksenia Vakhrusheva, co -organizer of the festival, an activist of the youth human rights group of Ksenia Vakhrusheva. -There are amazing things, for example, you somehow do not expect these girls to support their parents. After all, parents are always conservative in our view, but in fact we learn that there is an amazing understanding between generations.
Putin’s Games should open the festival, and his film “Mom, Dad, I am Muslim” will close his film about a girl living in a provincial Israeli town in a religious Jewish family. The girl decides to accept Islam, and you can understand how her life is complicated. But she wants to find a Muslim husband, who at the same time would accept her family with all her contradictions. Religious beliefs of parents, children, lovers, the attitude of a society that does not accept the main character and even threatens her reprisal - all this is reflected in the family of the family.
“I think such a human rights festival, including the so -called forbidden topics, is very necessary today, first of all, because I am a supporter of the ban on any prohibitions,” says Yuri Vdovin, a member of the human rights council of St. Petersburg. - Such a festival gives an opportunity for a different view of life, and the more views on life, the better. As the scientist Nikolai Girenko, who was killed by the Nazis, the wider spectrum of different manifestations of culture said, the richer the culture of society becomes. Here we have an international day of freedom of the press, and in this regard, such a festival is especially important, because we are at 178th at this holiday. Such shows affect the worldview of people, make it more tolerant, wider.
Despite the fact that the films of the festival are devoted to past events, Yuri Vdovin believes that it is not too late to talk about them.
-Unfortunately, the relevance of what was happening with Pussy Riot, and with the murdered bee boy, and corruption in our place, are also not disappearing, so it's time to talk about it.
Perhaps, really, a serious reflection on significant events is impossible immediately, in news mode. Therefore, the theme of Ukraine does not sound at the festival, but the hot discussions of past months or even years are gaining uniform. This is evidenced by the expert of the anti -discrimination center "Memorial" Stefania Kulaev:
- I was invited to discuss the film "Justice in Hungary." The theme of fascism, unfortunately, is very relevant for us, the theme of gyphanophobia sounds now as one of the most alarming topics of our days. After all, in the east of Ukraine, now, among other things, there are gypsy pogroms. And this is not surprising, because the aggressive forces there are partially relied on nationalism, and not on the nationalism of small peoples that can still be understood, but to nationalism in the spirit of "Russian national unity." There, in the east of Ukraine, there are people who are close to the leader of the prohibited RNU Barkashova, who are really associated with the extreme right in Russia and at home. And therefore, they are not only against Ukrainians, they are both against the gypsies and against the Jews, after all, there are already very stringent anti -Semitic statements, there is a completely anti -Semitic lady, all this is nearby, all this is close. The same problem exists in Hungary, where nationalism and racism are very strong, so we must understand all this, compare, discuss.
According to Stefania Kulaeva, this year the program of the May 32 festival is much stronger than in previous years, and the topic of protest in Russia is not raised there in vain.
- Yes, a film about Pussy Riot is presented there, but we now have other people and other artists - Peter Pavlensky , for example, brought criminal liability for burning several tires in an early Sunday morning in a deserted place, while our authorities justify the seizure of airports, military warehouses and administrative buildings in Ukraine. A similar case occurred in Kaliningrad, where people decided to raise the German flag over the FSB building as a trolling, and now they are arrested and prosecuted, they are accused under the same article as Pussy Riot. We must think and talk about it - artistic actions are regularly perceived by the state as a criminal act - against the background of much more serious rebellious acts. I am very interested in how the discussion will pass, I hope that it will not turn into a meaningless skirmish with specially sucked people.
The organizers of the "May 32" film festival warn: "It should be remembered that the strongest changes in the name of good occur due to the strength of non -violence." They consider their festival a holiday - the day of an unknown hero: "And on this day we want to show a movie about heroes and for heroes. As well as some unknown heroes to be famous."
When asked when the day comes on May 32, the organizers also have an answer: he will come "when, as Mary Poppins said, the wind will change ..."