Maria Veyts (Russia, 2004-5) and Anna Bitkina (Russia, 2003-4) took an introspective look at one of ECLA’s prominent cultural components this semester in their film Lost & Found. In the film, the two young directors try to uncover the identities of their schoolmates from former Soviet Union Republics. In the interviews presented in the documentary, the students discuss several aspects of these identities: language, national traditions, influence of the Soviet Union past and their relationship to Europe as well as the future development of their countries and their personal futures. Through their stories the participants of the film draw cultural borders of their countries and distinguish their national uniqueness, a process which was largely neglected during the second part of the 20th century. The film was presented at the short film festival ‘Shooting Europe’ which took place in Karlsruhe, Germany on May 1-5, 2005.
The Bard College Berlin Student Blog