Documentary filmmaker Katya Fedulova about a modern portrait of Russian women
WHEN KATE FEDULOVA WAS EIGHTENT, mother put her on the ferry "Anna Karenina", plying between St. Petersburg and the city of Kiel, and sent to live in Germany - away from the dangerous Russia of the 90s. Seventeen years later, Fedulova filmed a documentary about this, which begins with the story that rape was the cause of a radical step. In broad daylight, right on Nevsky Prospect, Katya and her friend were shoved into a car, and then thrown unconscious there. In the film “Faith. Hope. Love”, which was recently presented at the Artdocfest festival competition, director Katya Fedulova returns to Russia to understand what it would be like if it were left, what modern Russians are, what they want and are fighting
Three heroines are in the center of attention: the Orthodox feminist Natalya, Olga and Anastasia, a deputy and a fighter against corruption, the winner of a beauty contest who went to fight in the Donbass. Each has its own goals and guidelines in life, each defends its own idea. “Faith. Hope. Love” begins with grandmother Katya Fedulova telling about the war: when the detachment was surrounded, she, being the commander, gave the command to everyone to keep one patron himself, because they had to “die, but not surrender.” The correspondence dialogue, in which Katya enters with her late grandmother, permeates the story of three activists and turns it into a voluminous picture about the lives of several generations of women in Russia. We talked to a documentary about her life between the two countries and how she sees her contemporaries from Russia.
About finding heroines for a movie
When I started making the film, I didn’t have an emancipation theme, I was just going to make three female portraits. But it was important for me to show patriotism, Orthodox faith and the struggle for democracy, I wanted to see strong women within these trends.
In Russia, the role of women was declared as very significant even under socialism. In words, the emancipated Soviet woman was at the same legal level as the man, but in fact the man came home from work, took the newspaper, cut in the television, the woman, coming home, worked on.
Everything else, the woman has never been in big politics. Now the idea has arisen that a woman is capable of changing something for the better, but as long as I do not see any real opportunities for this, there is still a man behind every woman. I do not doubt, of course, that there are independent women, but if we talk about some serious political level, then nothing is possible without an influential rear. I haven't seen anything like this while I was looking for my heroines.
After all, I had many other options, all of which were women who spoke on an open political platform. And I really wanted to find someone who was close to my views, and with great joy went to Kursk to meet with Olga, whose appeal to Putin impressed me so much. But even here I met an illustrative example of how everything is arranged in a political space. Everything that she does depends on Konstantin, the businessman who finances her, their common newspaper and, accordingly, to one degree or another he uses Olga’s political position.
Olga hides the truth, but considers herself a fighter for democracy - and in this I continue to believe her. You see, there are real results of her actions: there are corrupt officials whom she removed from her posts. In addition, the film did not include an important story with a local nuclear power plant, which is still in a terrible state. There is a leak of radioactive substances - she wrote about all this in her newspaper. But to what extent she is really ready to give everything to this struggle - material well-being, her own safety and children’s safety is another matter.
Anastasia, a fan of Stalin, provides herself, but when a woman finds herself in a war in the Donbass - yes in any war - she still falls under the command of the men, they make decisions there. Anastasia worked as a war correspondent, while she was told how to shoot, what is possible, what is impossible. Natalya sees herself as a feminist in some way and urges women to take control of their own destiny, while she herself is being kept by her ex-husband. It resembles a typical careerist politician who, based on some personal experience, perhaps a little embellished, builds an ideological campaign.
On Orthodox feminism and the fight against abortion
As for abortion, there really is a problem. In the sense that in our country from the Soviet Union it went so far that we were not explained what contraception is, and so happened in the Russian provinces that abortion itself is the only means of contraception. And I agree that it is necessary to fight against this - many women simply do not know the alternatives, they need to be educated.
But Natalya proposes to ban, as she says, “contraceptive propaganda,” and nurture chastity in girls. It is meaningless, so the problem will only get worse. They are great friends with Milonov, they support each other very much, we interviewed him too, but it was such a stereotypical nonsense that we did not use it. Natalya thinks that often only those who are dressed incorrectly are being raped, but what is Natalia wearing? In the same short skirts, tight dresses. Therefore, for me this is a position typical of many politicians: double morality.
About Russia in the 90s and today
I left Russia not because I did not love her, but because I wanted to shape my life and did not see such an opportunity here. The only thing that Yeltsin gave us at that time was freedom: freedom of speech, freedom to open enterprises, and so on. At the same time, it was very scary, you were surrounded by crime everywhere. In addition to the story I told in the film, there were many other occasions, on a smaller scale. Danger lurked young girls at every step and every day. It did not make sense to go to the police because she worked with all the bandits and you never knew who could protect you. And in Germany I was able to get an education, got married, my husband is German, I have been living there for more than twenty years. But I, of course, follow our country with interest, this is my homeland, my identity.
I am very concerned about the renaissance of Stalinism. In my family, my great-grandfather and great-grandmother were repressed. I know how scary it all was when people were afraid to say what they think, to talk about what they saw with their own eyes. And now all these ideas are also mixed with desperate religiosity. I am very scared to watch it all.
Germany, of course, influenced, but I was rather formed by the post-perestroika society: “Kino”, “Nautilus Pompilius” - we listened to all this, reflexed, I talked in informal such companies, where it didn’t matter how you look, beautiful or ugly - it was important what you think and what you say. Therefore, in the film, I differ from my heroines, it looks like I never dreamed of them. Colleagues from the film crew asked me to put on a somehow decent dress in the frame, but I am like this in real life, this contrast was not intentional.
About female self-sufficiency and equality
It is more interesting to talk about women than about men. There are also enough problems in Germany, the idea of equality has not yet been realized. First of all, it concerns the difference in salaries in identical positions.
German society as a whole is still conservative. For example, in my environment: mostly directors are men. They are much easier to get funding for the film. It is believed that they can go on a business trip to the shooting and are not required to sit with the children. It is believed that they are stronger, more penetrative. In Germany, it is not customary to pronounce it, but it is densely stuck in the head. Although the channel ZDF, for which I work, is now doing this reform: to give quotas to women, so that half of the projects are necessarily authorship of female directors. There are festivals that set gender quotas.
On the one hand, I, of course, feel like a strong woman who was able to combine her family and profession. But I have a rather conservative husband who resolves many issues himself. And I like it. Equality with us is that I go on my business trips, but when the question concerns some material acquisitions, family problems related to raising children, it is easier for me to say: come on, decide for both of us.
My parents had the opposite: my mom decided everything for everyone and dad was always under her command. I suffered from this, and maybe because of these childhood experiences, I found a man with a stronger character. But this concerns only our personal relations. And if it comes to my professional development, I can do everything I want, and if it were not so, I would hardly tolerate it.
In general, I think about making a documentary on modern feminism. Find the four heroines who live alone in America, the other in Europe - in Germany, as well as in Russia and in China. Such strong successful women, feminists, and talk about how they really live, how independent they feel and how much their feeling corresponds to socio-political structures, laws and everyday life in general. And of course, at what cost it is given to them.
Photo:fotomatrix - stock.adobe.com
