Celebrating International Women’s Day *And By Popular Demand* Dolya Gavanski’s Remarkable WOMEN’S DAY Is Set To Have Further Screenings
Writer and filmmaker Dolya Gavanski - founder of Thea Films - is delighted to announce that following the sell-out performance of the film last year, there will be further screenings of WOMEN’S DAY to celebrate International Woman’s Day on March 8th, once again at the beautiful and historic Regent Street Cinema and at BerthaDocHouse (Curzon Bloomsbury). More dates will be announced soon.
This award-winning film which premiered at the Moscow International Film Festival includes astounding, untold personal and inspiring stories told by extraordinary women, pioneers and survivors, born in the USSR.
Intimate, yet epic in its scale, surprising, funny, painful and contradictory, the film was extensively researched and filmed over three years. This is the untold history of women in Russia – but the topic resonates with the world today, not just in relation to post #METOO, but also in terms of the progress of political ideals and the very redefinition of what it means to be a woman.
Women’s Day will be released in nine cities across Russia through one of the leading cinema chains - Karo Cinemas on 27th February. This is something of a milestone, and extremely rare for documentaries.
The director, Dolya Gavanski, a London based actress and filmmaker, spent her teenage years in Russia. She has long been fascinated by Russian feminism and what Russian women had to go through to survive; their empowerment and fight for equality as demonstrated by the heroines of the film: The Nobel Laureate, the ‘Voice of the USSR’, the beauty blogger, the cyber security boss; veterans of Stalingrad and the Leningrad Siege, the exiled feminist, the Tractorist Heroine and many more. These women were forged in a culture that had officially proclaimed women equal to men. They were told they could achieve it all, but at what cost - and what was the reality?
Gavanski says “I was astonished by the stories, and the women I encountered, from the 30 year-old make up genius through to the 94 year-old veteran of Stalingrad. I was surprised, and, deeply moved. They opened up to me - and opened me up - in ways that I had not expected.”
WOMAN'S DAY IS BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND AT REGENT STREET CINEMA ON MARCH 8
AWARDS:
WOMENS’ DAY won Best Film at Russia Abroad Festival, Special Jury Award at the EuroAsian Bridge Festival; was nominated for the Golden Unicorn Award during the Russian Film Week Festival in London (voted in the top three films by the audience), and was a semi finalist at GDONSK (biggest China documentary festival). The film has been officially selected at the Sofia film Festival (March) and Istanbul Film Festival in April, and has been invited to screen at Harvard University, and other cultural institutions, next month.
Detailed information on all the women who took part in this film is attached, as well as the poster image.
About Dolya Gavanski (Writer/ Director)
Brought up in several countries, Dolya studied acting in Moscow and London, and is a graduate of Cambridge University. She also gained a PhD in Russian Theatre at
Goldsmith’s College, University of London.
As an actress she has worked with acclaimed directors such as Michael Winterbottom, Angelina Jolie, Sir Trevor Nunn and Susanna White. She has extensive experience in film, TV, radio and theatre, ranging from Shakespeare to contemporary works, and has written drama for film and BBC Radio.
In 2015 she founded the UK film production company, Thea Films - her particular interest lies in championing female voices and challenging cultural stereotypes. Since then she co-directed and wrote the feature documentary Golos: Ukrainian Voices (Best Documentary Film - London Independent Film Festival, 2016), and was co-curator of the critically acclaimed exhibition in London - Superwomen: Work, Build and Don’t Whine (Top Cultural Event/The Guardian). Women’s Day is her debut as sole director.
WOMEN’S DAY is produced by Thea Films in association with Cultural Solidarity Media. Co-produced by Elemag Pictures, Agitprop, IDay and MDR
Production countries: Great Britain, Russia, Germany and Bulgaria
Original Languages: Russian and English
DCP/HD - 85 / 52 / 3x27 min - Colour / Black & White
World Sales: Wide House
No Comment