Panorama 24 / L'autre coté
The Imaginary Tatars
Film, 21min, 2022
Promotion Marguerite Duras
2021-2023
Born in 1988 in Tomsk (Russia)
Anna, a filmmaker of Tatar origin, calls upon a Tatar Shaman to help her get rid of a family curse. They are a striking example of how a traditional culture exists in digital capitalist society: while the Shaman performs rituals on Instagram every night, Anna is making a film about it. They meet far from Tatarstan, where neither of them lives, in a non-place where the Tatar culture takes the form of random theatre performances and collections of funny artifacts. Archive photographs of the perished Tatar people whose names are forgotten seem to be the most tangible link with the past. Is there such a thing as a curse, or is it just the flow of history? Are there shamans and filmmakers, or just personas? Are there even the Tatars, or just the echo from the past centuries? Meanwhile, deep underneath the superficial there is a sleepless power that roars and rumbles, the soul-eating Tatar monster called Ubir. The characters will haunt the haunting dream, and bring it out to conclude this story of personal growth.
Panorama 24 / L'autre coté
Film, 21min, 2022