Absurdistan (film)
Encyclopedia
Absurdistan is a 2008
film written and directed by Veit Helmer.
It formed part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
.
, and chronicles a standoff between the sexes: the local women decide to withhold sex until their lazy men fix the pipeline that carries the village’s water supply. Young lovers Aya and Temelko are caught up in the argument and Temelko becomes determined to fix the pipeline so he can be with her.
's MEDIA New Talent programme. Although the film was made on a low budget, Helmer was able to gather a cast of 40 actors from 14 different countries. Most of Absurdistan was filmed on location in Lahıc, Ismailli, Azerbaijan
over a nine week period in summer 2006. As there are no hotels in the village, most of the 90 member crew had to stay with villagers. Additional scenes were filmed in Çayqaraqoyunlu
, Shaki and Tbilisi
.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
film written and directed by Veit Helmer.
It formed part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival
2008 Sundance Film Festival
The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was In Bruges and the closing night film was CSNY Déjà Vu.-Films:...
.
Plot
The film is set in a remote and forgotten desert mountain village in the former Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, and chronicles a standoff between the sexes: the local women decide to withhold sex until their lazy men fix the pipeline that carries the village’s water supply. Young lovers Aya and Temelko are caught up in the argument and Temelko becomes determined to fix the pipeline so he can be with her.
Cast
- Kristyna Malérová as Aya
- Max Mauff as Temelko
- Nino Chkheidze as Grandmother
- Ivane Ivantbelidze as Dantscho, the shooting gallery owner
- Ani Amiridze as Lenora, Dantscho's daughter
- Ilko Stefanovski as Guri, Temelko's Father
- Assun Planas as Temelko's Mother
- Otto Kuhnle as the Barber
- Hijran Nasirova as the Barber's Wife
- Hendrik Arnst as Landlord
- Olga Nefyodova as Landlord's Wife
- Adalet Zyadhanov as Policeman
- Matanat Atakishiyeva as Policeman's Wife
- Azelarab Kaghat as Baker
- Michaela Bandi as Baker's Wife
- Blagoja Spirkovski-Dzumerko as Cobbler
- Dace Bonateas Cobbler's Wife
- Elhan Guliyev as Bus Driver
- Julietta Koleva as Bus Driver's Wife
- Helder Costa as Doctor
- Monica Calle as Doctor's Wife
- Kazim Abdullayev as Shepherd
- Firangiz Babyeva as Shepherd's Wife
- László Németh as Postman
- Sarah Bensoussan as Postman's Wife
- Mubariz Alixanli as Watchmaker
- Khatuna Ioseliani as Watchmaker's Wife
- Nurradin Guliyev as Beekeeper
- Elena Spitsina as Beekeeper's Wife
- Radomil Uhlir as Butcher
- Suzana Petricevic as Butcher's Wife
- Rafiq Azimov as Carpenter
- Nelli Cozaru as Carpenter's Wife
- Vlasta Velisavljevic as Veteran
- Gisela Fritsch as Grandmother (voice)
Production
Helmer started writing the script after reading a 2001 newspaper account of women in the Turkish village of Sirt refusing to accommodate their husbands until they fixed a broken pipeline. He collaborated with Gordan Mihic and Zaza Buadze on the screenplay, receiving funding from Sources2, the Mediterranean Film Institute and the European CommissionEuropean Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
's MEDIA New Talent programme. Although the film was made on a low budget, Helmer was able to gather a cast of 40 actors from 14 different countries. Most of Absurdistan was filmed on location in Lahıc, Ismailli, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
over a nine week period in summer 2006. As there are no hotels in the village, most of the 90 member crew had to stay with villagers. Additional scenes were filmed in Çayqaraqoyunlu
Çayqaraqoyunlu
Çayqaraqoyunlu is a village and municipality in the Shaki Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 1,560....
, Shaki and Tbilisi
Tbilisi
Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
.
Release
Absurdistan had its world premiere at the 2008 Sundance Festival where it was nominated for the Grand Prize in the World Cinema Dramatic category. It released in theatres in Germany on 20 March 2008.Awards
- 2008 Special Award at the Bavarian Film Awards (Veit Helmer)
- 2008 Film Award in Gold for Best Production Design at the German Film AwardsDeutscher FilmpreisThe Deutscher Filmpreis is the highest German movie award. From 1951 to 2004 it was awarded by a commission, since 2005 the award has been given by the Deutsche Filmakademie...
(Erwin Prib) - 2009 International Fantasy Film Award at FantasportoFantasportoFantasporto, also known as Fantas, is an international film festival, annually organized since 1981 in Porto, Portugal. Giving screen space to commercial feature films, auteur films and experimental projects from all over the world, Fantasporto has created enthusiastic audiences, ranging from...
(Veit Helmer) - 2009 Grand Prize for Best Feature Film at Mediawave, Hungary (Veit Helmer)
See also
- LysistrataLysistrataLysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
, a play by AristophanesAristophanesAristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
with a similar plot - The SourceThe Source (2011 film)The Source is a 2011 French comedy film directed by Radu Mihăileanu, starring Leïla Bekhti and Hafsia Herzi. Set in a remote village in North Africa, the story will focus on women who sex strike against having to fetch water from a distant well...