a Russian presentation to consider

[Slava Paperno]

Dear SEELANGers,

We had an excellent presentation at Cornell the other day, and I want to
share my impressions with you in case some of you are planning similar
events for your Russian programs.

Two filmmakers from Moscow, Ella and Stanislav Mitin, showed their
documentaries (in Russian, with English subtitles) and talked about their
work and life to our students and other interested folks--mostly in
Russian, with a short introduction in English, and then a discussion
through an English interpeter. Their documentaries are a fine blend of
fact, art, and imagination. They're a complete departure from the old-style
contrived informational documentaries that some of you may know. The
follow-up discussion was also very interesting, with just enough of a
cultural difference to make it intellectually stimulating for the students.
One example: one of the films shows a scene in a Moscow school cafeteria
where three teenage skinheads (yes, they're called skinhedy) put forth
their views on how  non-Slavs can be gotten rid of; then they confront a
Cuban girl, their classmate,  who calls them duraki and cries. During the
discussion, the question came up of the differences between the way we
treat marginal groups like skinheads and neo-Nazis and how they're viewed
in Russia... very illuminating, to say the least.

Stanislav Mitin turned to documentaries after a long and distinguished
career as a theater director in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Ella Mitin is in
television. I'll be happy to answer any questions about the Cornell event
(sp27 at cornell.edu), but please write to the filmmakers themselves with any
other questions: stanislav-ella at mtu-net.ru.

Slava Paperno
Department of Russian
Morrill Hall, Cornell University

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Use your web browser to search the archives, control your subscription
  options, and more.  Visit and bookmark the SEELANGS Web Interface at:
                  http://home.attbi.com/~lists/seelangs/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------