Wednesday, April 25th - 7:15 pm - St. Anthony Main   Director: Ben Hopkins with Ekber Kutlu   Escaping political oppression with five migrations of their 2000-member tribe over the past century, Pamir Kirghiz are experts at survival, as one might guess from the title.

UK filmmaker Ben Hopkins and Ekber Kutlu (Kirghiz sculptor-intellectual) construct a mosaic -- incorporating Kirghiz re-enactments of their past (done in various cinematic styles) e.g. migration, battles with the Soviets, and individuals's personal life stories. This unique "films-within-a-film," reveals Kirghiz humor and celebration of their resilient culture, changing as it is. Younger Kirghiz (under 30s) are aware of very different options that those available to their elders. Having taken refuge in an eastern Turkish planned community (1980s), Kirghiz increasingly see Istanbul, far from their mountainous homeland of Central Asia, as a place in which to get ahead. Younger Kirghiz have education, the internet and pop music, with hopes for the future, yet bring along their age-old skills in confronting adversity.

Cast: Sereban Aslan, Suleyman Atanisev, Ismail Atilgan, Alpaslan Kutlu, Arif Kutlu

In Turkish & Kirghiz with English subtitles, Turkey/UK, 85 minutes, 2005, DigiBeta