Stories of women from Egypt, Russia at Kundura Cinema

ISTANBUL

Kundurama, the online viewing platform of Kundura Cinema, this week will screen two documentary films about the lives of women who are caught between the impositions of conservatism and the desire for change and freedom in Egypt and Russia.

“Fiancées” by Swiss director Julia Bünter follows three Egyptian women with different social backgrounds and religious sects close-up on the long and complicated road to marriage. The film made its world premiere at the National Competition of Visions Du Réel in 2019 and won the Best Documentary Award at the Tirana Film Festival and the Best Editing Award at the Mumbai Film Festival.

The other film “School of Seduction,” in which Russian director Alina Rudnitskaya followed three women in her country for seven years, tells the experiences of three women who attend a course where they are taught how to seduce rich men.

Shown at Zurich, DOC NYC, Sydney and CPH: DOX festivals, the film features the tragicomic portrayal of archaic gender roles in the country, while revealing the obstacles to women’s freedom in Putin’s Russia with disturbing realities.

The films, which will be released on May 14 with a limited quota, will meet with the audience for the first time in Turkey at Kundurama and will be watched free of charge with English and Turkish subtitles until May 30.

Also, “The Other Side of the Dream” selection, prepared by the partnership of Kundura Cinema and Kinoscope, continues in Kundurama. British artist and director duo Daniel & Clara’s 2019 documentaries “Notes From A Journey,” the award-winning short “Afternoon Clouds” by Indian director Payal Kapadia and “And What Is The Summer Saying,” can be watched until July 19.