„Atijat, the first wife” - prize-winner in Estonia
„Atijat, the first wife” , film by Anna Błaszczyk, produced by OTO Film Studio and TVP1, received Jury’s Special Distinction at this year’s International Documentary Films Festival in Parmu, Estonia. The Jury appreciated the film as “remarkable film about human rights”.
„Atijat, the first wife” is a portrait of Sudanese family and social relations there. After several years of marriage, the main protagonist learns that her husband is looking for a new wife. Reconciled with his intentions and reality of life, she tells Anne, the film’s director, her painful story. In the background of Atijat’s story, there are conversations of Sudanese men and women, in which Anne takes an active part, getting to know the truth about Sudanese beauty canons, the phenomenon of polygamy – difficult for women and funny for men, as well as the shocking tradition of circumcision for young girls.
More: http://www.chaplin.ee/filmfestival/awards-public.htm
At the end of 2008, the daily “Rzeczpospolita” published an interview with the film’s author, in which she tells about the circumstances of creating the film.
“How did you get to know Atijat?”
“ During archeological excavations, in which I have participated for 10 years. We rented a house in a small village on the edge of the desert – in a clay hut covered with palm leaves, with a view of the expanse of Bajuda desert. I was eager to visit the villagers. Atijat lived nearby. At first, we only exchanged glances and simple gestures. We would drink tea, make meals, walk to the Nile and visit other women. However, in spite of great hospitality, I could sense distance. Everything changed when Atijat began to teach me Arabic. Years passed before I started to understand their dialect and a new world opened before me. “
The entire interview: http://www.rp.pl/artykul/221145.html