Birlyant, a Chechen Story Canada
2007, 79min.
Prod.: Helen Doyle, Germain Bonneau, Script/Dir.: Helen Doyle, Dir. of Phot.: Vincent Chimisso, Isabelle de Blois, Sound: Marie-France Delagrave, Edit.: Stռphanie Grռgoire, Alexandre Mailhot, Vincent Lacombat
Cast: Birlyant Ramzaeva, Tamara Ramzaeva, Aset Sabdullaeva, MylՌne Sauloy, Tamara Kalaeva
Birlyant Ramzaeva is a Chechen performing artist. When war comes to her country, her life falls to pieces. Her only weapons are her voice and her music. Poet and playwright Makkal Sabdullaev, the great love of her life, is also her mentor. Before his disappearance in July 2000, he wrote many texts that Birlyant set to music. Birlyant’s highly unusual and very personal story provides an altogether different view of the Chechen conflict, the consequences of war, and the tragic destiny of a people. This remarkable woman represents, in a way, all women who have ever had to face war. With Birlyant “it’s never just a song, it’s a people’s soul revealed.”
Production Company
Productions Tatouages de la memoire
Address: 175, rue St-Alexandre, Longueuil (Quebec) Canada – J4H 3E9
Tel: (1) 450.928.0836
E-mail: bondoyle@videotron.ca
www.tatouagesdelamemoire.com
| Doyle, Helen Helen Doyle
Independent screenwriter and filmmaker Helen Doyle, is a co-founder of the film cooperative Video Femmes. Under their aegis, she directed her first documentaries focusing primarily on women’s points of view. Her main areas of interest are violence, madness and creativity. After completing the film Les mots/maux du silence, she left the team and went on to explore a world of dreams and poetry with Les Tatouages de la memoire. In a more formal vein, she created a number of ‘mocumentaries’. With her own production company, she directed and produced Soupirs d'ame/ Soul Murmur that represents “very pure auteur approach to the quest for identity.” In 2007 she completed Birlyant, une histoire tchechene/Birlyant, a Chechen Story. She is now working on a documentary project with the working title Image Bearers/Rapporteurs d’images. In March 2008 she received the Grant for Achievement from the Arts and Letters Council of Quebec.
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