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Long Distance Love
”We estimate that there are today approximately 12–16 million guest workers in Russia who support themselves with low-paid jobs. Most of them come from the Central Asia countries, where unemployment rates are enormous”.
Natalja Vlasova, Head of the Russian Department of Migration.
The film Long Distance Love focuses on Alisher,18, who lives in the city of Osh in Kyrgyzstan, not far from the border to Uzbekistan. He’s a young man looking for love in his life, but who also longs to survive in a country where people are living under severe pressure ever since the breakdown of the Soviet Union.
Alisher marries Dildora, 17, on a sweltering summer day. He’s in love, and for a brief moment in his life, he’s happy. But in order to help his parents and to build a life for himself and his young wife, he must go to Russia and try to find a job. He has to leave his pregnant wife and travel far – the distance between Osh and Moscow is 3,500 kilometres.
This is a film with a love story in focus, but it´s also a story on what sometimes only can be described as modern slavery and global injustice.
SCREENINGS
24-25 July 2009. Möllevångsfestivalen, Malmö, Sweden
23 July - 2 Aug 2009. Era New Horizons Festival, Wroclaw, Poland.
22 June 2009. Peace & Love festivalen, Borlänge, Sweden.
15-22 June, 2009. NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE at Silverdocs, Silver Spring, MD, USA.
17 May, 2009. Cinemateket, Copenhagen, Denmark.
7-17 May, 2009. Planete Doc Review, Warsaw, Poland.
4 April, 2009. Gasterbeiter Festival, Moscow, Russia.
20-23 March, 2009. Eurodok, Oslo, Norway.
13-22 March 2009. INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE at Thessaloniki International Filmfestival, Greece.
19 mars, 2009. Bian, Eslöv.
10 mars, 2009. Biovision, Höör.
4 mars, 2009. Rio, Tomelilla.
25 februari, 2009. Hässleholms kulturhus.
10 februari, 2009. Biorama, Skurup.
31 januari, 2009. Filmmuseet, Kristianstad.
21-27 november, 2008. Spegeln, Malmö.
21-26 november, 2008. Kino, Lund.
17 november, 2008. Doc Lounge, Malmö.
16 november, 2008. Zita, Stockholm.
27 september, 2008. Nordisk Panorama Festival, Malmö, Sweden.
Production details
Directors: Magnus Gertten and Elin Jönsson
Director of Photography: Jon Rudberg
Editor: Jesper Osmund
Music: Magnus Jarlbo
Sound Design: Alexander Thörnqvist
Post production: Minerva Film, Copenhagen
Technical coordinator: Erik Varde
Associate producer: Lina Bertilsson
Kyrgyz producer: Jyldyz Bekbaeva
Produced by Magnus Gertten and Lennart Ström.
Produced by Auto Images.
In co-production with SVT/Lars Säfström and Film i Skåne/Joakim Strand, with support from The Swedish Film Institute/Tove Torbiörnsson and Nordic Film and Television Fund/Eva Færevaag.
Documentary. Running time 88 minutes.
Now on dvd
Long Distance Love is now also available on dvd. The dvd has subtitles in English, German and Swedish. If you want to buy the dvd, please contact Christer Hellemarck at our office on christer.hellemarck@autoimages.se
Special Mention in Warsaw
Long Distance Love received a Special Mention at the Planete Doc Review Festival in Warsaw, May 2009. The jury for the Magic Hour section presented the following motivation at the awards gala:
”A beautiful and universal film about love and hope under rough circumstances”.