[Daviscenter-list] "My Perestroika" documentary film, Sunday 11/14 at Museum of Fine Arts

This Sunday, November 14, at 4:15 you have the chance to see a fantastic documentary film by Boston filmmaker Robin Hessman, an affiliate of the Davis Center. Details below and at the Museum of Fine Arts website: http://www.mfa.org/programs/film/my-perestroika My Perestroika by Robin Hessman (UK/US, 2010, 88 min.). Robin Hessman follows five Russians living during extraordinary times-from their sheltered Soviet childhood, to the collapse of the Soviet Union during their teens, to the shifting political landscape of post-Soviet Russia. My Perestroika enjoyed a busy year: nominated for a Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, winner of the Center for Documentary Studies filmmaker award at the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, and special jury mention at Silverdocs. In Russian with English subtitles. Introduced by Marshall I. Goldman, senior scholar, Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University. ABOUT THE FILM: My Perestroika (tells the story of five people from the last generation of Soviet children brought up behind the Iron Curtain. Just coming of age when the USSR collapsed, they witnessed the world of their childhood crumble and change beyond recognition. The film explores the lives and personal stories of a married couple, both history teachers, and three of their childhood friends, revealing how they are adjusting to their post-Soviet reality in today's Moscow. Using a wealth of footage rarely seen outside of Russia--including extensive home movies from the 1970s--My Perestroika intercuts an intimate view of the past with the contemporary lives of these former schoolmates, weaving their voices to map the contours of a nation still very much in transition. PRAISE FOR MY PERESTROIKA: My Perestroika is a wonderful film. It asks, "What has changed since the collapse of the Soviet Union? Has anything really changed?" We get different answers from the people we've gotten to know well in the film. Because filmmaker Robin Hessman knows Russia and its people so well, the viewer strongly identifies with all the film's central characters. A real view from inside, completely natural and real, it vividly portrays history up close and personal. The montaged juxtapositions of past and present are beautifully done. The home movies of the heroes' childhood and the soundtrack music, composed of popular songs for children from the 70s and 80s, add to the authenticity of this fine documentary. -Jane Taubman, Professor of Russian, Amherst College ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: Robin Hessman graduated from Brown University with a dual degree in Russian and film. She received her graduate degree in film directing from the All-Russian State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Moscow (with a "red diploma," or honors). She received an Academy Award in 1994 (with co-director James Longley) for their student film, Portrait of Boy with Dog. During her eight years living in Russia, Robin worked for the Children's Television Workshop as the on-site producer of Ulitsa Sezam, the original Russian language Sesame Street. In 2005 she was named Filmmaker in Residence at WGBH, Boston, to develop My Perestroika. Robin is an associate of Harvard University's Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Since 2006, Robin has served as the director of documentary programming for Amfest, the American Film Festival in Moscow. --- Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies Harvard University 1730 Cambridge Street, 3rd Floor Cambridge, MA 02138 T 617.495.4037 F 617.495.8319 http://www.daviscenter.fas.harvard.edu